Russia invites North Korea's Kim to Moscow
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 19 December 2014 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Russia invites North Korea's Kim to Moscow, 19 December 2014, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/54be13178.html [accessed 21 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
December 19, 2014
The trip would be the first foreign visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (center), 31, since he assumed leadership of the isolated and tightly controlled East Asian state in 2011.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit Moscow next spring.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Kim had been formally invited to attend 70th-anniversary celebrations of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
The trip would be the first foreign visit by Kim, 31, since he assumed leadership of the isolated and tightly controlled East Asian state in 2011.
The invitation comes amid warming ties between Moscow and its former Sovet-era client state.
Russia is seeking to increase its influence in Asia and export gas through North Korea. Pyongyang is looking for Moscow's support in facing criticism for rights abuses and its nuclear program.
Kim sent a special envoy to Moscow in November.
Russian officials in the eastern border region of Khabarovsk last week unveiled a plaque commemorating Kim's father, Kim Jong Il, who visited Russia a few months before his death in 2011.
Based on reporting by Reuters and Interfax
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
