Kim Jong-un to meet Putin in Russia

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will pay a visit to Russia later this month for his first meeting with President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

Kim will make the visit at Putin's invitation, TASS news agency and other Russian news outlets quoted the Kremlin as announcing in a press release.

The report did not give further details, including dates and the venue of the summit between Kim and Putin.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that the two leaders would hold their first summit in Russia's Far East city of Vladivostok next week when Putin travels to the Far East on his way to China for an international conference.

Japan's Kyodo News, citing unidentified officials sources, reported that Kim plans to make a three-day visit to Russia beginning on Wednesday.

Kyodo said that Kim plans to travel by train and hold a summit with Putin on Russky Island off the city of Vladivostok.

Russian media reported on the widely expected summit, citing some restrictions being imposed at facilities in the city bordering the North.

Japan's Fuji News Network also aired footage of a man presumed to be leader Kim's protocol chief, Kim Chang-son, checking around a train station in the Russian city.

If the summit takes place, it will be the first meeting between leaders of the two countries in eight years, after Kim's late father, former leader Kim Jong-Il, met then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in 2011.

--IANS

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