▲ This AFP photo shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) smiling during their meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome space center in Russia's Amur region on Sept. 13, 2023. (Yonhap)

N Korea-Russia-summit

N. Korea's Kim invites Putin to visit Pyongyang; Putin accepts: state media

By Chae Yun-hwan

SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit his country during their summit at Russia's spaceport, and Putin accepted the invitation, Pyongyang's state media reported Thursday.

Kim made the offer at an official dinner with Putin on Wednesday after their summit at the Vostochny space center in Russia's Amur region, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"At the end of the reception, Kim Jong Un courteously invited Putin to visit the DPRK at a convenient time," the KCNA reported in an English dispatch. "Putin accepted the invitation with pleasure and reaffirmed his will to invariably carry forward the history and tradition of the Russia-DPRK friendship."

DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.

The summit -- the first in over four years -- comes as Pyongyang has recently been seeking to bolster military ties with Moscow and doubling down on its weapons development amid growing security cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan.

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