The Kremlin announced today that it has invited North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit Russia, according to his spokesman Dmitry Peshkov. The Kremlin also said it had not been informed by Washington about a conference call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin following a telephone conversation between the two leaders in March.
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal quoted sources as saying the White House was in the early stages of planning a possible conference between the two leaders.
"We have a feeling that there is a lack of initiative (on the American side)," Peshkov told reporters in a teleconference.
According to Peshkov, Kim is likely to visit Russia as part of an economic forum in the Russian Far East in Vladivostok in September, and the Kremlin invited him a few days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov paid a visit to the North.
Kim and Lavrov met late last month. Diplomatic sources told Sputnik earlier today that Putin was likely to meet with Kim on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in September.
"During our contacts in Pyongyang, our Foreign Minister invited Kim Jong Un to visit Russia, and indeed the Eastern Economic Forum was mentioned as one of the possible opportunities for such a visit," Peshkov told reporters when asked if there are plans to meet with Kim on the forum.
According to Peshkov, however, there is no plan for Putin to meet with Kim at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in China in June.
