Kremlin says Putin sent an invitation to DPRK leader

9/11/2018 - 10:10:43 AM

Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent a letter of invitation to visit Russia to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s leader Kim Jong-un, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on September 10.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) has sent a letter of invitation to visit Russia to the DPRK’s leader Kim Jong-un (R). (Source: Express)

He added no detailed plans of a meeting between the two leaders are being discussed at the moment.

Two days earlier, the RIA news agency quoted speaker of the upper house of the Russian parliament Valentina Matvienko said that the DPRK leader Kim Jong-un has confirmed his readiness to visit Russia.

Kim "wants peace", Matvienko said after she met the DPRK leader in Pyongyang on September 8. The timing and place of Kim's visit will be agreed via diplomatic channels, the Russian lawmaker added.

"He confirmed he is ready and willing to make an official visit to Russia," RIA quoted Matvienko as saying.

"He said he does not want to delay (the visit).

"He said: meeting the President of Russia is very important to me, we should discuss the strategy and prospects of our cooperation, I of course would also like to discuss a number of important questions of the global agenda," she said.

Matvienko also said she had passed a message from President Vladimir Putin to Kim. She did not provide further detail.

Kim will not able to attend a forum in Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok on September 11-13 but will send a delegation of DPRK’s officials, Matvienko said.

DPRK is in talks with the United States about a step-by-step execution of commitments reached when Kim and US President Donald Trump met at a summit in Singapore in June, another news agency, Interfax, reported, citing Matvienko.

Source: NDO

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