Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev TASS

By Park Si-soo

Kim Jong-un may meet Putin next week: Yonhap 2019-04-15 11:11  |  North Korea Kim Jong-un's Russia visit looks imminent 2019-04-04 17:18  |  North Korea Kim Jong-un may visit Russia to meet Putin 2019-03-25 17:23  |  Politics Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev arrived on an unannounced visit to the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, the Korean Central News Agency (KSNA) said on Tuesday.

"Russia's Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev and persons accompanying him arrived in Pyongyang on April 1," the agency said.

There has been no information about the duration of the visit or its agenda.

The trip by Kolokoltsev, who is known to be in charge of security issues, came amid speculation that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is preparing to visit Russia for his first summit with Putin, which could take place as early as this month.

Earlier, Kim Chang-son, known as Kim's de facto chief of staff, visited Moscow and Vladivostok, spawning speculation that the leader's Russia trip might be imminent.

The North Korean leader has visited China four times since last year for summits with Chinese President Xi Jinping, including the latest in January. But he has not traveled to Russia since taking office in late 2011.

North Korea appears to be intensifying its diplomacy with Russia since the breakdown of February's summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump. Three senior North Korean officials made back-to-back visits to Russia last month.