Kim Jong-il arrives in Russia
CBC News
Posted: Aug 20, 2011 6:01 AM ET
Last Updated: Aug 20, 2011 6:57 AM ET
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North Korea's reclusive leader, Kim Jong-il, has begun his first trip to Russia in nearly 10 years.
His train pulled in to Khasan station Saturday morning. A source quoted by South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said he was greeted by the Russian president's envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District and other local government officials.
It's the North Korean leader's first public visit to Russia since 2002, when he met then-President Vladimir Putin in the far eastern city of Vladivostok. This visit comes amid reports of severe food shortages and economic hardship in North Korea.
Kim is expected to visit a dam north of Vladivostock before holding talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev near Lake Baikal in Siberia on Tuesday.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted an unidentified official as saying that the North Korean leader may also meet Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Russia and North Korea both announced Friday that Moscow was providing food assistance to Pyongyang. And North Korea said earlier this week that Medvedev sent a letter calling for greater energy co-operation among Russia and the two Koreas, saying it would enhance regional security. That came after Russia's foreign minister said Moscow was in talks with Pyongyang and Seoul separately on putting a gas pipeline through the Korean peninsula.
"The key reasons for Kim's Russian visit are to discuss receiving food aid and improving economic co-operation between the two" countries, said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
With files from The Associated PressShare Tools
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