Russian Kremlin Official Confirms North Korean Leader’s Upcoming Visit to Russia
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will visit Russia this week for talks with President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin announced on Sept. 11.
In a statement, the Kremlin said Mr. Kim would pay an official visit “in coming days,” adding the visit was “at the invitation” of Mr. Putin.
According to a Kremlin spokesman, the two leaders will hold talks in the presence of their respective delegations and in a series of one-on-one meetings.
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Mr. Kim’s visit has since been confirmed by North Korean state media.
South Korean media has reported that Mr. Kim has already departed for Russia aboard a special train.
South Korea’s foreign ministry said it was monitoring developments but declined to provide details.
On the same day as the announcement, Mr. Putin arrived in Russia’s far eastern city of Vladivostok to attend the 2023 Eastern Economic Forum, which is slated to wrap up on Sept. 13.
The planned Putin-Kim meeting will not be the first of its kind.
In 2019, Mr. Kim traveled by train to Vladivostok, roughly 300 miles from North Korea’s border, where he met Mr. Putin for the first time.
The meeting doesn’t come as a surprise. For the past week, speculation has swirled that a visit to Russia by Mr. Kim was imminent.
On Sept. 4, The
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