The Kremlin reportedly said that preparations for Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to North Korea are under way.

According to the Russian TASS news agency on Saturday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that preparations for the visit are proceeding at their own pace.

Peskov, however, said that Putin's meeting earlier on Saturday with Natural Resources and Environment Minister Alexander Kozlov, who heads the intergovernmental commission on cooperation with North Korea, was unrelated to the preparations for the visit.

Putin accepted an invitation to visit North Korea made by the North's leader Kim Jong-un during their talks in September last year.

Meanwhile, Putin received a report on tourist exchanges with North Korea in the meeting with Kozlov in the Kremlin.

In the meeting, Kozlov reportedly said that tourist exchanges between the countries are gaining popularity, adding that Moscow has big plans with North Korean comrades and has recently executed some of them.