Putin 'gratefully accepted' Kim's invitation to visit North Korea: Kremlin

Russia's President Vladimir Putin, right, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un attend a meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, Wednesday. Reuters-Yonhap

Russian President Vladimir Putin has "gratefully accepted" North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's invitation to visit his country, the Kremlin said on Thursday, after the two men held a rare summit in Russia's Far East.

The summit has stoked U.S. concerns that a revived Moscow-Pyongyang axis could bolster Russia's military in Ukraine and provide Kim with sensitive missile technology.

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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Kim's visit to Russia would continue for several days. The Kremlin said Putin has now returned to Moscow from the Far East, where he showed Kim round Russia's most modern space launch facility.

Peskov described the summit between Putin and Kim as "timely, useful and constructive", and that Moscow would continue developing relations with Pyongyang.

He also confirmed that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would visit North Korea in October. (Reuters)