North Korean leader could visit Russia next year, says Kremlin

This image made from undated video of a news bulletin aired by North Korea’s KRT on Sept. 3, 2017, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un holds the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee. (Photo by KRT via AP Video)

MOSCOW — The Kremlin says it hopes that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will visit Russia next year.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Wednesday that “I hope the visit could be possible next year.”

The announcement contrasted with earlier Kremlin statements that Kim was expected to visit Russia this fall.

Last month, the Kremlin said Putin had extended an invitation to Kim to visit Russia and that Moscow was working on the details of where and when that meeting could happen.

North Korea entered talks with the U.S. and South Korea earlier this year, saying it’s willing to negotiate away its advancing nuclear arsenal. Nuclear diplomacy later stalled because of suspicions over how sincere North Korea is about its disarmament pledge. /atm