North Korea's Kim Jong-il arrives in Russia on rare visit

[News_Editor]

North Korea's Kim Jong-il arrives in Russia on rare visit

2011-08-20 13:00:46 GMT+7 (ICT)

MOSCOW (BNO NEWS) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on early Saturday morning arrived in Russia for his first visit to the country in nearly a decade, the Russian and North Korean governments confirmed.

A brief statement from the Kremlin, the official residence of Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, confirmed that Kim had arrived in the country. "Chairman of the National Defense Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) Kim Jong-il began a visit to the Russian Federation today," the statement said.

The statement added that Kim will visit Russia's Far East and Siberian Federal Districts, but gave no details about how long the visit would last. "The meeting with Mr Medvedev is the main event on his program," the Kremlin said, without saying where or when the meeting will take place.

A brief report from North Korean state-run media also confirmed that Kim had arrived in Russia. It said it was an unofficial visit at the invitation of Medvedev. Kim last visited Russia in 2002.

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