Russian President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 13 made his first visit to Iturup, one of the southern Kuril Islands in the Pacific, drawing strong condemnation from Tokyo.
His visit to the islands, an archipelago stretching northeast from Hokkaido, Japan, to Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, came one day after North Korea carried out major naval drills and fired a missile. Iturup is one of the disputed island territories controlled by Russia since the Soviet Union occupied them in 1945, and it is still claimed by Tokyo.
Putin visited a fish plant, a hospital and a school on the island. He also briefly spoke to local residents and met with the governor of Russia’s Sakhalin region, Valery Limarenko….
Japan Protests as Putin Visits Disputed Islands
