Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly expected to make a quick visit to the communist country of North Korea this week.
The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) described Putin’s stop as a “state visit” after accepting an invitation from dictator Kim Jong-un.
Yury Ushakov, one of Putin’s top foreign policy aides, said the trip was expected to be “very intensive.”
Jong-un allegedly invited Putin while visiting Russia last September.
“Putin accepted the invitation with pleasure and reaffirmed his will to invariably carry forward the history and tradition of the Russia-DPRK [North Korea] friendship,” North Korean state media reported at the time.
“I am deeply convinced that the heroic Russian army and people will brilliantly inherit the tradition of victory, confidently demonstrate invaluable dignity and honor on the fronts of the special military operation,” Kim Jong-un said during his meeting with Putin in September.
Putin has only been in North Korea once, in 2000, during his time in power.
