North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is expected to leave Pyongyang by train on Tuesday to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok.
The summit will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, probably at Far Eastern Federal University on Russky Island off Vladivostok. Kim’s head of protocol Kim Chang-son inspected the university last week.
The 700-km train journey from Pyongyang to Vladivostok takes about 10-15 hours.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency on Friday said that Kim wrote a letter to Putin on April 18 in reply to a letter from April 12 congratulating him on his reelection as chairman of the State Affairs Commission, the country’s highest decision-making body.
“I am willing to cooperate closely with you to defend peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the world,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying.
Kim is desperate for support from Russia after an abortive summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in February failed to ease international sanctions.