West News Wire: According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency, Kim Jong-un has extended a personal invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit the DPRK.
On Wednesday, as part of an official visit to Russia, Kim was welcomed at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Far East. Kim allegedly urged the president to visit his own country after the ceremony after being greeted by Putin and other senior Russian officials at the satellite launch site.
“Putin accepted the invitation with pleasure and reaffirmed his will to invariably carry forward the history and tradition of the Russia-DPRK friendship,” KCNA stated of Kim Jong-un’s cordial invitation to Putin to visit the DPRK at a convenient moment.
But according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, there are currently no firm plans in place for such a visit.
“No, not yet planned. Such preparations are not currently in place. But I will reiterate that since this is our neighbour, it is in our best interests to foster connections that serve our interests.
Two rounds of bilateral negotiations took place at the cosmodrome, one including representatives from North Korea and Russia and the other bringing Putin and Kim face to face. The North Korean leader allegedly emphasised the significance of the “traditional and strategic DPRK-Russia friendship,” adding it “powerfully encouraged the just struggle for accomplishing the cause of independence against imperialism,” according to KCNA.
In addition to Kim, DPRK Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and several other top officials were invited to the meeting, which was also attended by Moscow’s defense chief Sergey Shoigu, who visited North Korea with a Russian delegation in July.
