TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya on Thursday expressed concern that North Korean troop involvement in Russia's invasion of Ukraine could threaten global stability.

During a meeting with a group of media outlets, Iwaya, who assumed his post early in October under new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, said Japan needs to work together with the global community so that the situation in Ukraine will not further escalate.

"If North Korea joins in the fighting, the situation in Ukraine will only worsen, further destabilizing the international community," Iwaya said.

North Korea has been recently accused by South Korea, the United States and Ukraine of sending soldiers to Russia to support its invasion of its neighbor, amid concerns that Pyongyang could receive military technologies from Moscow in return.

Iwaya also expressed his hope to visit China at an early date to meet the nation's top diplomat Wang Yi, as the two Asian powers must solve "various matters of concern and challenges" between them "through dialogue."

"Japan and China share grave responsibility for the peace, stability and prosperity of the region," he said, adding that Tokyo will steadily promote "mutually beneficial" bilateral relations based on common strategic interests.

Diplomatic tensions between Tokyo and Beijing have been rekindled by the first-ever violation by a Chinese military plane of Japan's airspace in August and the fatal stabbing of a Japanese schoolboy by a Chinese man in Shenzhen in September.

Iwaya said Tokyo will continue to "say what needs to be said" to Beijing, underscoring that the government has conveyed serious concerns to China over its intensifying military activities and asked it to take adequate measures to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens living in the neighboring country.