North Korean leader in Russia for talks

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/194860.html

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has arrived in Russia to hold talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on various issues.

The North Korean leader will spend about a week in Russia to discuss energy cooperation, de-nuclearization and tensions with South Korea with Medvedev, AFP reported on Saturday.

A North Korean government source added that Kim will meet and confer with Medvedev in Ulan-Ude near Lake Baikal in Siberia on Tuesday.

This is Kim's first visit to Russia after about a decade since his previous public trip in 2002.

On Friday, Russia's foreign ministry said that 50,000 tons of grain will be sent to North Korea by the end of September.

Kim has already visited China three times seeking ways to alleviate the effect of devastating floods as well as the US-led economic sanctions on his country.

North Korea has called for the unconditional resumption of six-party talks involving China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, North Korea and the United States over nuclear disarmament on the Korean peninsula.

Tensions have been running high on the Korean Peninsula since November 2010 when an exchange of artillery fire left four South Koreans dead on a border island.

The North accuses US President Barack Obama of plotting with regional allies to topple the country's government, insisting that its nuclear program is a deterrent against US forces in the region.