MOSCOW - Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin will meet in Russia's Far East on Thursday, the Kremlin said, as the North Korean leader looks to rebuild ties with an old ally amid a standoff with the United States. Ushakov said the talks would begin one-on-one and then move into an "expanded format", without providing further details. The talks follow repeated invitations from Putin since Kim last year embarked on a series of diplomatic overtures. Ushakov met last week in Moscow with Fiona Hill, a foreign policy adviser to Trump, for talks on North Korea. Analysts say that by reaching out to Russia Kim could be looking to balance Beijing's influence, while Putin is keen to project Russian influence in another global flashpoint.

Source: Bangkok Post April 23, 2019 14:37 UTC