The Kremlin said in a statement, “In response to the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin will pay a friendly state visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on June 18 and 19, 2024.”
The Russian President is next scheduled to visit Vietnam on June 19-20.
This confirmation from the Kremlin regarding Putin’s visit to North Korea comes days after reports indicated “speculation” that the Russian President will visit Pyongyang in the coming weeks.
Last Monday, the Russian newspaper Vedomosti confirmed that Putin will visit North Korea and Vietnam in the coming weeks, without setting a fixed date.
However, a Vietnam official told Reuters earlier that Putin’s visit to Vietnam is scheduled for June 19 and 20, but it has not been confirmed yet.
The Kremlin also said earlier that Russia wants to strengthen cooperation with North Korea “in all fields,” but did not confirm the date of the visit.
It is noteworthy that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited Russia last September, arriving in eastern Russia by train and touring the Vostochny Cosmodrome.
Last Wednesday, the official North Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim said in a letter he sent to Putin on the occasion of Russia’s National Day that his country is an “invincible comrade-in-arms” of Russia.
The North Korean leader said that his meeting with Putin, at a Russian missile launch base last year, contributed to strengthening “the century-old strategic relationship.”
Kim also praised Russia for achieving results in its efforts to build a strong country by “deterring and crushing all challenges, sanctions and pressures exerted by hostile forces.”
Last Friday, two officials from South Korea and the United States warned that Putin’s possible visit to North Korea could strengthen military relations between the two countries.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry stated that South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun said, in an emergency phone call with US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, that Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang should not lead to further military cooperation between Russia and North Korea in violation of Security Council resolutions.
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