Russia's president Vladimir Putin is due to visit North Korea, according to the large Russian newspaper Vedomosti.
As part of this, Putin will also visit Vietnam, according to the newspaper's reports. The trip to North Korea is confirmed by Russia's ambassador in Pyongyang, who tells Vedomosti that preparations are underway. The trip is said to be able to take place at any time in the coming weeks.
Russian and Vietnamese representatives have previously said that a trip of this kind is planned.
Vladimir Putin has visited North Korea once before, in 2000. At the time, he was relatively new to the presidency and North Korea was led by the former leader Kim Jong-Il. The current North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un was, however, in Russia and met Putin as recently as last autumn.
Russia's increasingly isolated regime has strengthened ties with North Korea, alongside the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. North Korea is said to have supplied Russia with weapons for the war.
