N. Korean media confirms leader's visit to Russia

SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's official media on Saturday confirmed leader Kim Jong-il's visit to Russia, saying that Kim will pay an unofficial visit to Siberia and the Far Eastern region of the Russian Federation.
"Chairman Kim Jong-il of the National Defense Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) will pay an unofficial visit to Siberia and the Far Eastern region of the Russian Federation at the invitation of Dmitry Medvedev, president of the Russian Federation," said the North's Korean Central News Agency in a brief dispatch from Pyongyang.
"During the visit, the top leaders of the two countries will have a meeting," it said, without elaborating on the details, including on his itinerary while in Russia.
Kim visited the Russian Far East in 2002 after making a 24-day trip to Moscow and other Russian cities in July 2001.