Kim arrives in Bureya HPS and inspects its operation

21/8 Tass 57

KHABAROVSK, August 21 (Itar-Tass) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il,
continuing his Russian visit, came on Sunday to the Bureya hydropower
plant where he inspected its operation and observed water discharge.
The armored train of the general-secretary of the Korean Workers Party
and chairman of the North Korean State Defense Commission arrived at the
Novosibirsk railway station. He was welcomed there by the Russian
president's representative in the Far Eastern Federal District Viktor
Ishayev and Governor of the Amur Region Oleg Kozhemyako. Then, the North
Korean leader went to the Bureya hydropower plant.
Eyewitnesses reported that Kim wears, according to a tradition, a
service jacket of the khaki color and almost did not take off sunglasses.
He saw a film on the operation of the plant at the hydropower station and
left an entry in the Honorary Visitors' Book. As a keepsake he was given a
picture on which cranes are depicted.
The North Korean leader started his Russian visit on Saturday. Kim's
stay programme in Russia envisages visits to several regions of the Far
Eastern and Siberian Federal districts. The Kremlin press service reported
that "a meeting between the North Korean leader and Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev will be the main aim of the visit".
Earlier, Kim visited Russia twice.
His first official visit took place a decade ago and was unprecedented
in longevity. Kim covered the Russian territory from Vladivostok to Moscow
and St. Petersburg by rail between July 26 and August 18, 2001. His train
made stops in Novosibirsk, Omsk, Khabarovsk and other cities.
His talks with President Vladimir Putin resulted in signing the Moscow
Declaration where the sides confirmed an intention to promote global
stability and to strengthen bilateral relations, above all in the trade
and economic spheres.
Kim visited Russia the second time in August 2002-that was a four-day
familiarization tour of the Russian Far East to study the region's
economic policies.