Anchor: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s close confidant, Kim Chang-son, has wrapped up his trip to Russia after visiting Moscow and Vladivostok. The seven-day visit suggests that the reclusive North Korean leader could soon be traveling to Russia. 
Our Bae Joo-yon has more. 

Report: Kim Chang-son, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's de facto chief of staff, traveled to Vladivostok on Saturday after a five-day trip to Moscow. 

According to Japan's national broadcaster NHK, Kim left the far eastern Russian city on Monday. 

The trip to Vladivostok came as a surprise because he was expected to head to Beijing from Moscow to transfer to a flight back home. 

The visit has raised speculation that Pyongyang may be considering either Moscow or Vladivostok as possible venues for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Given its proximity to the North, Vladivostok has often been discussed as a possible site to host a North Korea-Russia summit. Putin invited Kim Jong-un to visit the city last year. 

As head of protocol, Kim Chang-son visited the Kremlin several times during his stay in Moscow, suggesting that the North Korean leader’s trip to Russia is imminent. 

The senior official at the North's State Affairs Commission had traveled to Singapore and Hanoi to prepare for summit meetings between Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump. 

Though the possibility of the North Korean leader visiting Russia has grown, it is yet unclear when and where in Russia he will travel to. 

Others speculate that Kim Jong-un, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping could hold a three-way summit on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing set for late April. 

Since the collapse of the second U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi, many observers projected that Pyongyang would seek to further boost its friendly ties with China and Russia in a bid to pressure the U.S.
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.

[Photo : YONHAP News]