Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, is preparing to visit Russia within this year, according to reports by Russian TASS news agency and others on the 27th (local time).
On the same day, Andrey Rudenko, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, stated this at a conference "for a new agenda for Russia and India-bilateral relations." He did not specify the exact timing of the visit.
Deputy Minister Rudenko said, "We always negotiate visits and exchanges with everyone. We are always ready," adding, "I was literally in North Korea two weeks ago and discussed this issue along with other matters."
Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry revealed that Deputy Minister Rudenko visited North Korea on the 15th and met with Choe Son-hui, North Korean Foreign Minister, among others, to discuss "high-level contacts" and other topics.
Deputy Minister Rudenko also said that preparations are underway for Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, to visit Pyongyang this year, stating, "This is to continue strategic dialogue with our North Korean friends." He added, "This dialogue began when Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui visited Moscow last November," and said, "We must continue this tradition, and this year it is Lavrov's turn." He further stated, "This plan is significant. We will carry it out."
On the 24th, Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, responded to speculation that Chairman Kim might visit Moscow to attend the 80th anniversary Victory Day parade on May 9 by saying, "We are not ready to make any statement."
Chairman Kim was invited to visit Moscow by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who visited North Korea in June last year.
On the 21st, Sergey Shoigu, Secretary of the Russian Security Council and a close aide to President Putin, visited North Korea and met with Chairman Kim to deliver a message from President Putin.
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