(new: Kremlin confirmation added)
SEOUL/MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) – According to official information, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un is on his way to a meeting with the head of the Kremlin Wladimir Putin arrived in Russia. “I confirm this,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists from the Russian agency Interfax on Tuesday. The South Korean Defense Ministry had previously announced that there were indications that Kim’s private train had crossed the border in the morning (local time).
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin’s meeting with Kim would take place in the Russian Far East. The spokesman was quoted by the state news agency Tass as saying where exactly has not yet been said. There will be meetings between the two delegations and individual discussions before an official dinner.
After days of speculation abroad, Moscow and Pyongyang only confirmed Kim’s “official visit” to Russia on Monday. The USA suspects that it will primarily be about arms deals between Russia and the strictly isolated North Korea. Although there was no official information yet, there was speculation that the two could meet at an economic forum in Russia’s Far Eastern metropolis of Vladivostok. The forum lasts until Wednesday.
North Korea’s state media reported on Tuesday that Kim had already boarded his train in Pyongyang on Sunday afternoon, accompanied by representatives of the ruling Workers’ Party, the government and the military. Pictures showed that he is accompanied by Foreign Minister Choe Sun Hui, among others./dg/DP/ngu