Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, August 20, 2002
Kim Jong Il to visit Russia Tuesday
Kim Jong Il, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), will arrive in Russia's Far East region on Tuesday by the Trans-Siberian railway, the Interfax reported Monday.
Kim Jong Il, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), will arrive in Russia's Far East region on Tuesday by the Trans-Siberian railway, the Interfax reported Monday.
The news agency quoted Gennady Vedernikov, spokesman for the government-run Far East Railroad, as saying that the company had already drawn up a timetable for Kim's special train, which will stop successively at Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur and Vladivostok.
Earlier, Russian media reported that Kim is expected to visit local air force and navy factories during his three-day visit to these cities and could meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin,who is also to visit the same region, in the port of Vladivostok on Friday.
The Kremlin, which announced Kim's visit days before, has so far declined to confirm such a meeting and revealed no details about Kim's trip.
According to the latest Itar-tass report, a six-carriage train for Kim's visit arrived Monday at the Kahsan border station in Russia's far-eastern Primorye region, where Kim's train is expected to enter Russia.
Last summer, Kim traveled across Russia and met with Putin in Moscow. The two leaders pledged to build closer strategic and economic ties and criticized American plans for a missile defense system.