Japan, Ukraine sign security info-sharing pact

KYIV — Japan and Ukraine on Saturday signed an accord to facilitate the exchange of classified security information in the latest bid to ramp up cooperation amid Russia's prolonged war against Ukraine, which now involves North Korean troops.

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, who made an unannounced visit to Kyiv earlier in the day, and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal attended a ceremony to conclude the pact.

Iwaya told reporters that the bilateral agreement on information security will be "a basis" for intelligence sharing between the two governments.

In September, then Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the two countries had reached an agreement, "in principle," on the information security pact when they met in New York.

Iwaya also agreed with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha to launch a high-level security policy dialogue involving senior foreign and defense officials, which he said is intended to boost defense coordination.

"Japan will continue to stand together with Ukraine for its efforts in realizing a just and lasting peace," Iwaya said at a joint press announcement after meeting with Sybiha.

At the start of the talks, which were open to the media, Sybiha praised Japan's support for Ukraine since Moscow's full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

The two ministers also denounced North Korea's troop dispatch to western Russia and its move to "directly participate in the aggression, which is extremely concerning," Iwaya said without elaborating further.

Later in the day, Iwaya paid a courtesy call to Zelenskyy.

Iwaya entered Ukraine by train from Poland early Saturday after visiting Peru for a regional economic meeting, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, marking the first trip there by a Japanese minister since Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba took office last month.

The visit comes as Donald Trump's return to the White House following his win in the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election has cast a shadow over the prospects of financial aid to Ukraine from the Group of Seven industrialized nations.

While being critical of the massive U.S. financial support to Ukraine, Trump has said he is capable of ending the war in Ukraine swiftly by bringing Kyiv and Moscow to the negotiating table, should he become president again.

Japan, along with the United States and other G7 members, has been supporting Ukraine while imposing economic sanctions on Russia since the invasion began, including asset freezes and export bans.

At their talks, Iwaya and Sybiha also confirmed their collaboration with the Ukraine Mine Action Conference, a multinational forum to discuss countermeasures against landmines, which Japan will host in the fall of next year.

The most recent visit to Ukraine by a Japanese foreign minister was in January this year by Yoko Kamikawa. Ishiba's predecessor, Kishida, made a surprise trip to Ukraine in March last year.

© KYODO