North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit Russia to meet with Putin

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will visit Russia in a highly anticipated meeting with President Vladimir Putin that has sparked Western concerns about a potential arms deal for Moscow’s war in Ukraine

Russia and North Korea confirmed on September 11 that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will visit Russia in a highly anticipated meeting with President Vladimir Putin that has sparked Western concerns about a potential arms deal for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

A brief statement on the Kremlin’s website said Mr. Kim’s visit is at Mr. Putin's invitation and would take place “in the coming days.” The visit also was reported by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency, which said the leaders would meet — without specifying when and where.

Associated Press journalists near the North Korea-Russia frontier saw a green train with yellow trim — similar to the train used by Mr. Kim during previous foreign trips — at a station on the North Korean side of a border river.

It was unclear whether Mr. Kim was on the train, which was seen moving back and forth between the station and the approach to the bridge that connects the countries. It had not crossed the bridge as of 7 p.m. (1000 GMT).

Citing unidentified South Korean government sources, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported that the train likely left the North Korean capital of Pyongyang on Sunday evening and that a Kim-Putin meeting is possible as early as Tuesday.

The Yonhap news agency and some other media published similar reports. Japan’s Kyodo news agency cited Russian officials as saying Kim was possibly heading for Russia in his personal train.

South Korea’s Presidential Office, Defense Ministry and National Intelligence Service didn’t immediately confirm those details.