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Putin Invites Kim to Visit Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited Kim Jong-il, the head of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), to visit Russia, Russian news agencies reported from Pyongyang Wednesday.
The reports came after two hours of talks between Putin and Kim. Interfax news agency said the talks had gone on twice as long as planned.
Putin acknowledged that relations between the two countries has flagged in recent years, but said a friendship pact signed in February was a "positive step." "He invited Kim Jong-il to visit the Russian Federation at a convenient time," Interfax said.
Putin became the first Kremlin leader to visit the DPRK, shaking hands warmly with Kim on the airport tarmac and was greeted by cheering throngs who lined the sunny Pyongyang streets.
Interfax also quoted Putin as saying the DPRK has offered to give up its own missile programme if given access to other countries' rockets for space research.
Putin said Kim assured him that the DPRK's missile programme was entirely for peaceful purposes, the agency reported. "DPRK is even prepared to use exclusively the missile technology of other countries if it is offered rocket boosters for peaceful space research," Putin was quoted as saying.
Interfax said Putin called on countries that believe DPRK missiles pose a threat to join in such a programme. The promise from the DPRK is vital to Putin as he heads to the G8 summit in Okinawa, Japan, where the United States will be represented by President Bill Clinton. Russia and China oppose Clinton administration's plans to build a nuclear missile defence shield, which will be high on the agenda.
Moscow says that a gradual thaw on the Korean Peninsula makes it unnecessary. "One can minimize the threat by supplying the DPRK with its rocket boosters," the news agency quoted him as saying. DPRK's Korean Central News Agency, popularly known as KCNA, echoed the sentiment in a statement welcoming Putin's trip, thanking Moscow for resisting the "hegemonism and strong-arm politics of the imperialists."
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