North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. File Photo by KCNA/UPI |
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April 22 (UPI) -- Kim Jong Un's first summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin could include a visit to a naval vessel of Russia's Pacific fleet, according to a Japanese press report.
Kyodo News reported Monday Kim could also attend a performance of the Mariinsky Ballet and stop by the largest aquarium in the Russian Far East during the summit this week. Kim Chang Son, vice chairman of North Korea's state affairs commission, has been inspecting various sites, according to the report.
If the summit takes place, it will mark the first time Putin meets with a North Korean leader since Kim assumed power. The North Korean leader is expected to travel to Vladivostok in the Russian Far East and meet Putin on Russky Island on Thursday for their first summit.
Kim's father, Kim Jong Il, visited Russia in 2011. He died in 2012. Kim Jong Un is likely to travel by train and cross the border at Khasan, a Russia border city on Wednesday.
Russia has supported the lifting of North Korea sanctions, which have built pressure against Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
Kim is expected to lay a wreath at the Russian naval vessel, and visit with Russia-based North Korean exchange students and researchers.
The summit is being planned at a time when South Korean President Moon Jae-in has called for a fourth summit with Kim. North Korea has yet to officially respond to the offer.
Seoul is planning to observe the one-year anniversary of the Panmunjom Declaration, signed by Moon and Kim on April 27, 2018.
Yonhap reported the government sent a message regarding joint anniversary celebrations at Panmunjom on Monday. North Korea accepted the documents but did not issue a response, according to the report.
Moon met with Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on the same day, after concluding tours of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, Newsis reported.
Moon requested Kazakhstan's support in the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In the '90s, Kazakhstan voluntarily gave up nuclear weapons and adopted a policy of non-proliferation.
