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SEOUL, Sept. 24 (Yonhap) -- Russia has officially invited North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to visit the country, a Russian deputy foreign minister said, according to the TASS news agency Thursday.
The schedule for the visit will be coordinated through diplomatic channels, the agency said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin invited Kim to visit Russia after holding a summit with the North Korean leader in Pyongyang in June 2024, and made the same proposal when the two leaders met again at a military parade in China last September.
Speculation that Kim could visit Moscow within this year grew after North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui made an unexpected visit to Russia in July at the invitation of Russia's foreign ministry.
Kim has visited Russia twice, in 2019 and 2023, but met Putin on both occasions in Russia's Far East. He has never visited Moscow.
Pyongyang and Moscow have deepened their alignment since North Korea deployed troops to support Russia's war against Ukraine.
This file photo shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (2nd from R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (2nd from L) during their visit to China on the occasion of China's military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, on Sept. 4, 2025. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
khj@yna.co.kr
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