Kim leaves Primorye and heads for Ulan-Ude by rail

(Adds new details and corrects name of NDC)

21/8 Tass 79

KHABAROVSK, August 21 (Itar-Tass) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il
who arrived in Russia on a visit, headed on Sunday, after a short stay in
the Primorye Territory, for Ulan-Ude along the Trans-Siberian Trunk
Railway.
The general secretary of the Korean Workers Party and chairman of the
National Defense Commission alighted into the coach of this armored train
along a red stair-carpet.
Kim visited the Bureya hydropower station in the Primorye Territory
where he came in an armored Mercedes from the Novosibirsk railway station.
This car is transported in the armored train.
The North Korean leader expressed interest in the hydropower scheme on
the Bureya River and the history of its construction. Right after his
arrival at the station, he viewed a film about the power plant which was
specially translated into the Korean language for the high guest.
Following this, Kim inspected the turbine house of the station; then he
was shown a discharge of water across the dam.The delegation of the North
Korean leader was invited to a tent wherefrom they observed the discharge
of water.
Kim made an entry at the Distinguished Visitors' Book at the railway
station. Incidentally, he requested to translate entries left in the book
by all high guests, including that by Vladimir Putin. At a farewell
ceremony, Kim was presented a picture out of stones, depicting cranes.
While receiving the gift, the North Korean leader was without sunglasses
which he almost constantly wears.
The North Korean leader started his visit to Russia on Saturday. Kim's
visit programme in Russia provides for visits to several regions in the
Russian Far East 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 event of the visit".
Earlier, Kim visited Russia on two occasions.
His first official visit took place a decade ago and was unprecedented
in its duration. Kim covered the Russian territory from Vladivostok and
Moscow as well as St. Petersburg by rail from July 26 to August 18, 2001.
His train made stopovers in Novosibirsk, Omsk, Khabarovsk and other cities.
His talks with President Vladimir Putin resulted in signing the Moscow
Declaration where the sides confirmed their intention to promote
preservation of global stability, and to consolidate bilateral relations,
above all in the trade and economic sphere.
Kim visited Russia the second time in August 2002: that was a four-day
fact-finding trip around the Russian Far East to study the region's
economic potential.
-0-bur/kud