Kim Jong-Il to visit Russia in April

North Korea and Russia agreed to have Kim Jong-Il, chairman of North Korea's National Defense Commission, visit Moscow in April. A diplomatic source in Seoul said the two countries reached agreement on a summit between Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin, leaving specifics of the schedule to be worked out later.

Moscow gave Seoul secret notification to that effect in late January, it was learned. North Korean strongman Kim is to visit Moscow after South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung holds summit talks with U.S. President George W. Bush and then come to Seoul for a second summit with President Kim here. Their first meeting came in Pyongyang last June.

Kim Jong-Il's proposed trip to Russia will come 15 years after his late father Kim Il-Sung traveled there and will mark another milestone in Pyongyang's efforts to diversify its diplomatic activities in the wake of Kim's recent visit to Beijing.