Russia Foreign Min. to Visit N. Korea

MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he has accepted any invitation to visit North Korea.

Lavrov said in televised comments on Tuesday after talks with his counterpart from North Korea, Ri Yong-ho, that he has agreed to visit Pyongyang. Lavrov said, however, that there was no word on a possible meeting between President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Lavrov said that Russia welcomes Kim's plan to meet with the South Korean president and U.S. President Donald Trump as a step toward resolving the tensions around North Korea's nuclear program.

Kim visited Beijing last month to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping — the first time Kim has left the North since assuming power in 2011. It was also his first meeting with another head of state.

(KA)