 |
| ▲ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (L) holds talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during Kim's visit to Russia's Far East, on Sept. 14, 2023, in this photo released by the North's state-run Korean Central TV. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) Putin-N Korea
(LEAD) Putin to visit N. Korea, Vietnam as early as this month: report
(ATTN: RECASTS throughout with more details)
SEOUL, June 10 (Yonhap) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to visit North Korea and Vietnam in the coming weeks, a news report said Monday, amid growing speculation the widely expected trip to Pyongyang by the Russian leader is nearing.
Putin is expected to make the trip to Pyongyang as early as this month before paying a visit to Hanoi, according to the Russian daily Vedomosti.
The newspaper also quoted Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora as confirming that Putin's visit to Pyongyang "will happen and is actively being prepared."
If realized, it will mark a reciprocal visit by the Russian leader after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un traveled to Russia's Far East in September last year for a summit with Putin.
It will also mark Putin's first visit to the North in 24 years. He last visited North Korea in July 2000, when Kim Jong-un's late father, Kim Jong-il, was in power.
North Korea and Russia have increasingly been stepping up military ties and expanding the scope of cooperation since the leaders' summit.
Their tightening relationship has stoked concerns over suspected arms transfers between the two countries, in which Pyongyang has been providing weapons and munitions to Moscow for use in its war in Ukraine in exchange for Russia's assistance in advanced military technologies.
It has been widely expected that Putin's visit to the isolated regime is quite imminent, as there have been many high-level exchanges between the two countries over the recent months, including ministers and cultural delegations.
Russia's TASS agency reported last month quoting the Kremlin that the preparations for Putin's envisioned trip to the North were "proceeding at their own pace."
(END)
<저작권자(c) 연합뉴스, 무단 전재-재배포, AI 학습 및 활용 금지>
(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved
