Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he plans to visit North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, Pyongyang’s state media reported Sunday, potentially becoming the first head of state to meet Kim inside the isolated country. “I am going to visit the DPRK and meet… Kim Jong Un,” Assad said, the North’s state-run KCNA news agency reported, using the abbreviated version of the country’s official name. There were also widespread reports that North Korea helped Syria build a nuclear plant that was destroyed by Israeli bombing in 2007. Since coming to power in 2011, Kim has not met another head of state in North Korea. He only made his first overseas trip as leader this year, travelling to China to meet President Xi Jinping, an ally of the reclusive regime.

Source: The Guardian June 03, 2018 14:37 UTC