N. Korean leader Kim's intention to participate in victory celebrations in Moscow confirmed - Kremlin spokesman
MOSCOW. Jan 28 (Interfax) - North Korea has officially confirmed its leader Kim Jong-un's intention to participate in the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in Moscow in May, 2015, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov told Interfax.
"The North Korean leader's participation has been confirmed, and we are getting ready for his arrival," Peskov said.
A number of other leaders have also confirmed their intention to come to Moscow in May, he said.
"We will inform the public as the celebrations draw nearer," he said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had said earlier in January that Russia had received "a positive signal" in response to its invitation to Kim Jong-un to visit Moscow to take part in the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the victory.
The Kremlin had also said earlier that about 20 foreign leaders had given their consent to come to Moscow to attend the victory celebration ceremonies.
Some foreign media have pointed out that Kim's visit to Russia would be his first foreign trip after he came to power in December 2011.
The last time a North Korean leader visited Russia was in August 2011, when the current leader's father, Kim Jong-il, made a weeklong trip to Russia's Far Eastern and Siberian Federal Districts. The central event of that visit was Kim's meeting with then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Buryatia.
Kim Jong-il's first official visit to Russia had taken place in July-August 2001 and lasted 24 days. Kim traveled on a special train from Russia's Primorye territory to Moscow and St. Petersburg and then back to Pyongyang through Omsk, Novosibirsk, and Khabarovsk. The principal outcome of that visit was the signature of the Moscow Declaration by the Russian and North Korean leaders, in which the parties expressed their commitment to developing friendship and cooperation and interacting on foreign policy matters.