US envoy to visit Russia ahead of maiden Kim-Putin summit

ANI  |  Asia 

Biegun's visit to comes ahead of the first-ever summit between North Korean leader and Russian that is scheduled to take place around next Wednesday in Vladivostok, reported.

The on Tuesday said that it has long been preparing for the upcoming summit between Putin and Kim, triggering speculations that the North Korean leader intends to secure Moscow's backing in his bid for sanctions relief amid lack of progress in nuclear talks with

On Monday, South Korean met his Russian counterpart in and discussed on the need for closer cooperation in Seoul's push for the "complete denuclearisation".

Kim Chang-son, the North Korean leader's de facto chief of staff, reportedly visited and Vladivostok in late March for the North Korean leader's possible trip there. Russia's travelled to earlier this month.

Quoting sources in Vladivostok, Yonhap reported that an Air Koryo plane from is due to arrive at Vladivostok at 11 a.m. on Tuesday next week. The flight appears to have been scheduled for some special occasion apart from its regular flights only on Mondays and Fridays.

has been striving to create the momentum for the resumption of nuclear talks between and that have been stalled since the collapse of the February summit between US and North's Kim.

The February Trump-Kim summit in ended without a deal due to the failure of reaching a consensus over Pyongyang's denuclearisation process and Washington's sanctions relief.

During his summit with South Korean Moon Jae-in last week in Washington, Trump said he is open to a third summit with Kim while noting that his relationship with the North Korean leader remains 'good'.

In response, Kim also voiced his willingness for another summit with Trump, but with conditions.

"If the US proposes holding a third North Korea-US summit with a right attitude and a right method, we have a wiliness to do it one more time," Kim was quoted by Yonhap, as saying.

It is widely speculated that Moon is expected to participate in the proposed third US-summit, along with Trump and Kim, in order to keep denuclearisation talks on track and to chalk out a peace deal to end the over six-decades-long Korean War.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Wed, April 17 2019. 09:16 IST