Media: North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un plans to visit Russia
After his first official visit to China, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is likely to travel to Russia, as reported by the South Korean and Japanese media. Moscow, however, has called such considerations baseless rumors.
From March 25 to March 28, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife visited China, where they met with the Chairman of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, in Beijing. Following the talks, both sides announced their intention to develop bilateral relations and fortresses of "brotherly bonds." On April 27, Kim Jong Un is scheduled to hold a summit with South Korean leader Moon Jae-in in Panmunjom. In May, he has a meeting scheduled with US President Donald Trump.
Several South Korean and Japanese publications, referring to the opinions of various experts, reported that Kim Jong-un’s next visit will be to Russia. A number of newspapers even cited some unnamed sources that allegedly have information about preparation for a Russia-North Korea summit. There were also suggestions that the North Korean Foreign Minister, Ri Yong-ho, who will arrive in Moscow in a few days, will coordinate details for the summit.
The Kremlin has denied it is preparing for a summit with the North Korean leader. Nevertheless, Seoul and Tokyo are still talking about the possibility of another "blitz visit" by Kim Jong-un, this time to Russia.
Rossiyskaya Gazeta (RG) reports, citing its sources, that that such a visit would not be easy to organize or keep secret.
"I do not know anything about preparation for Kim Jong-un's arrival. Kim has long already had an invitation to visit Russia, so theoretically anything is possible; but preparation takes a lot of time, so do not wait for Kim to appear in Moscow or even Vladivostok in the near future,” said" RG’s Russian federal government source.
There is an opinion that a visit by Kim to Russia may be a possibility following the inter-Korean and US-North Korean summits; that is, after May. "From my point of view, we need to wait for the results of Kim Jong-Un's meetings with Moon Jae-In and Trump; and only after those [can we] talk about the possibility of a meeting with Vladimir Putin," the newspaper quotes Li Jin Gong, a former professor of political science at Kyonggi University in Seoul, as saying.
The last meeting between the leaders of Russia and North Korea took place in August 2011, when Kim Jong-un's father Kim Jong Il arrived in Russia. So far, as far as is publicly known, Russian officials have not communicated with Kim Jong-Un since he took over as leader of North Korea in late 2011.