South Korean President Kim Dae-jung said he viewed Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Seoul early next week as an epoch event in South Korea-Russia relations.

In a joint interview with Russia's Itar-Tass News Agency and Television, Kim said he would discuss bilateral cooperation for achieving peace on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia during his meeting with Putin in Seoul.

He will also discuss with the Russian president launching joint development projects in Far Eastern Siberia and a railway construction project to link Russia's Trans-Siberian Railway with railways in North and South Korea, as well as Russia's Irkutsk gas field and Maritime Province development projects.

Kim said President Putin's visit to Seoul would provide an opportunity to discuss a broad range of matters related to three-way cooperation among North and South Korea and Russia for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

He said his sun-shine policy toward North Korea is designed to remove the legacy of the Cold War from Korea for a peaceful co-existence and inter-Korean exchanges in political, economic, cultural, social and sports fields.