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DPRK leader Kim Jong Il began his second trip to Russia in as many years Tuesday, a four-day train trip through the country's Far East region that will include a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
Kim started his visit at the Russian border station of Khasan, where he was joined by presidential envoy Konstantin Pulikovsky and other Russian officials who will accompany him on the trip, said a spokeswoman for the Russian state customs committee in the Pacific port of Vladivostok, who spoke on customary condition of anonymity.
Kim and his entourage then headed to the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, where he was due to arrive on Wednesday morning, the spokeswoman said.
From there, Kim is to travel to Khabarovsk, said Pulikovsky's press secretary, Yevgeny Anoshin. Local media, citing anonymous sources, reported that Kim would tour two defense plants in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. One plant produces submarines, the other Sukhoi fighter jets, according to the reports.
Kim is then expected to head back home, stopping on the way in Vladivostok or elsewhere in the vicinity on Friday to hold a meeting with Putin, said Yelena Sukhinina, a government spokeswoman in Vladivostok.
(Xinhua News Agency August 20, 2002)
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