Japan Expresses Concern to China over Russia-North Korea Ties

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (R), shake hands before a meeting at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, 04 November 2024. EPA/Mikhail Tereshchenko / Sputnik / Kremlin Pool
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (R), shake hands before a meeting at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, 04 November 2024. EPA/Mikhail Tereshchenko / Sputnik / Kremlin Pool
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Japan Expresses Concern to China over Russia-North Korea Ties

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (R), shake hands before a meeting at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, 04 November 2024. EPA/Mikhail Tereshchenko / Sputnik / Kremlin Pool
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (R), shake hands before a meeting at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, 04 November 2024. EPA/Mikhail Tereshchenko / Sputnik / Kremlin Pool

Japan's top national security official said he conveyed "serious concerns" to China's foreign minister over North Korea's deepening ties with Russia after the pair held talks in Beijing.

Their meeting on Monday was four and a half hours long, according to Japanese media, which said the two also discussed a possible head-to-head between President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba this month at a summit in Peru.

"Regarding current events on the Korean Peninsula, cooperation between Russia and the DPRK came up as a topic of discussion," Takeo Akiba told reporters late Monday, using the acronym of North Korea's official name.

"I conveyed our country's serious concerns about this," he added after the talks with Wang Yi.

The United States and its allies say they believe up to 10,000 North Korean troops are on the brink of entering combat in Ukraine from Russia's side.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted the North Korean foreign minister, who has previously said the country will stand by Russia until its "victory" in Ukraine.

China considers Russia and North Korea its close partners. Washington has also expressed to China its concerns over Moscow and Pyongyang's deepening military engagement.

Monday's high-level talks were at China's invitation, Japanese government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Tuesday.

Akiba said he and Wang "affirmed that our two countries share the broad direction of promoting our strategic and mutually beneficial relations as well as building constructive and stable relations".

Relations between Japan and China have worsened as Beijing builds up its military capacity in the region, and as Japan boosts security ties with the United States and its allies.

Prime Minister Ishiba -- who took office just one month ago and could lead a minority government after his ruling coalition lost its majority in snap elections -- is hoping to meet Xi on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru from November 10-16.

Akiba also reiterated Tokyo's concerns about the fatal stabbing of a Japanese schoolboy in Shenzhen in September, he said.



Russian Drone Attacks Injure 8, Damage Buildings in Ukraine

An interior view shows a room inside a hospital building damaged by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, in this handout picture released November 29, 2024. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kyiv city/Handout via REUTERS
An interior view shows a room inside a hospital building damaged by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, in this handout picture released November 29, 2024. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kyiv city/Handout via REUTERS
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Russian Drone Attacks Injure 8, Damage Buildings in Ukraine

An interior view shows a room inside a hospital building damaged by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, in this handout picture released November 29, 2024. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kyiv city/Handout via REUTERS
An interior view shows a room inside a hospital building damaged by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, in this handout picture released November 29, 2024. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kyiv city/Handout via REUTERS

Russian drone attacks on Ukraine injured at least eight people and damaged residential buildings in the capital Kyiv and in the southern Odesa region overnight, officials said on Friday.
Ukraine's air force said in a statement that, of 132 drones launched against the country overnight, it had downed 88 drones, while 41 were "lost", likely due to electronic warfare, and one returned to the Russian territory, Reuters reported.
Russia has stepped up its nightly drone attacks on Ukrainian cities as it continues to push along the eastern frontline, making some of its largest monthly territorial gains since 2022.
It launched a record-high number of 188 drones against the country on Tuesday before staging a large-scale attack on Ukraine's power grid on Thursday.
The drone attack on the southern region of Odesa damaged 13 residential buildings and injured seven people, the national police said in a statement.
Fragments from downed Russian drones struck buildings in two Kyiv districts and injured one person late on Thursday, officials said.
Emergency services, in a post on the Telegram messaging app, showed pictures of rubble strewn about inside and outside a pediatric clinic in Kyiv's Dniprovskyi district on the east bank of the Dnipro River.
A security guard at the facility was taken to hospital. Adjacent buildings also suffered damage.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said drone fragments had struck an infrastructure site in the Sviatoshynskyi district on the west bank of the river.
Kyiv regional governor Ruslan Kravchenko reported minor damage to a private residence and another building without any casualties.