Japan's Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi has met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. The two agreed that the participation in combat by North Korean soldiers is seriously worrisome.

During the meeting on Saturday, Iwaya and Zelenskyy signed an information protection agreement to ensure proper protection of sensitive security information between the authorities of the two countries.

Iwaya was asked by reporters whether he had discussed impact of the Trump administration's inauguration on the situation in Ukraine during his meetings with Ukrainian leaders. He said that he had a frank exchange of views with Ukrainian leaders on cooperation with third countries, including the United States.

Iwaya also said that he conveyed the Japanese government's basic position that it is important to communicate closely with the incoming Trump administration on a variety of policy issues.