Amid the stalled nuclear talks between Pyeongyang and Washington,... the talk of the town is that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un might meet Russian President Vladimir Putin next week.
Kan Hyeong-woo reports.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could be making his first visit to Russia next week for a summit with President Vladimir Putin.
According to a source familiar with Pyeongyang-Moscow relations,... Putin is expected to take part in a domestic event in the Russian Far East next Wednesday... and the potential North Korea-Russia summit that has been up in the air for a while could take place there.
The source said that on his way to attend Beijing's 'One Belt, One Road' forum at the end of next week, Putin could meet Kim Jong-un.
Another source said a Kim-Putin summit is highly likely to take place either before or after the Beijing forum,.. citing that North Korea has been seen making preparations for such an event.
Diplomatic experts had been speculating that Kim, who has visited China four times already, would also visit North Korea's ally Russia... after the Hanoi summit with Trump in February did not see any agreements.
In March, North Korean protocol chief Kim Chang-son spent about a week visiting Moscow and Vladivostok,... stirring up the possibility of the North Korean leader's visit to Russia.
But neither side has officially confirmed anything about the possible meeting between Kim and Putin.
Earlier this month, Russia's presidential aide ( )Yuri Ushakov confirmed that an invitation has been handed over to the North and that Russia is waiting for a response from Pyeongyang.
Should the North Korea-Russia summit take place, it would be the first meeting between Kim and Putin... as well as the first summit between Pyeongyang and Moscow since 2011.
Kan Hyeong-woo, Arirang News