Kim Jong Un arrives by train in Vladivostok for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin that is likely to focus on Pyongyang's nuclear program.</s>Russian President Vladimir Putin says he's ready to tell Donald Trump about results of his talks with Kim Jong Un

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says he's ready to tell Donald Trump about results of his talks with Kim Jong Un.</s>North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s carefully choreographed visit to Russia suffered a minor glitch on Wednesday as his armored train missed the red carpet laid out for his welcome at Vladivostok station.

A smiling Kim, dressed in a black overcoat and black fedora hat, emerged onto the platform to be greeted by Russian officials about a minute late after the train was forced to reverse a few meters to ensure his door was aligned with the official welcoming line.

Kim’s arrival in Russia for a summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin was broadcast live on Russian state television. Russian officials waited patiently as the train reversed gear, alongside two North Korean aides holding ramps they then put down to bridge the gap between the train and the platform.</s>North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been greeted with gifts after he crossed the border into Russia ahead of a meeting with Vladimir Putin.

After disembarking his armoured train at the Russian border station of Khasan, girls in traditional dress greeted him with flowers, and bread and salt which he sampled.

The young leader will meet Putin in the Russian Pacific port of Vladivostok on Thursday, as he attempts to project himself as a serious world player in his first meeting with the Russian president.

The meeting follows the stalling of talks between Kim and U.S. president Donald Trump.

Trump and Kim met in June 2018 - the first ever meeting between a U.S. president and the leader of North Korea - in an historic summit in which both leaders signalled a desire to improve relations.

A second summit between the two, in Hanoi in February 2019, ended without agreement on easing the economic sanctions North Korea was hoping for.

Multilateral sanctions have been in place against the isolated nation for decades due largely to its attempts to develop nuclear weapons and long range missiles.

After greeting Kim Jong Un at the station, officials took him to the Russian-Korean Friendship House, built ahead of a 1986 visit by his late grandfather and state-founder and leader Kim Il Sung who died in 1994.

Read more: Kim Jong Un's quest to ease sanctions against North Korea</s>MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for a much-anticipated summit on Thursday, a Kremlin adviser said, putting an end to weeks of speculation about when and where it would take place.

Preparations for the meeting in Vladivostok, a Russia city on the Pacific, were held in secrecy because of North Korean security concerns, Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov told Russian news agencies on Tuesday.

Ushakov said that the talks would focus on the North's nuclear program. Russia would like to see progress on "positive trends" such as the North's commitment not to test ballistic missiles and would like to contribute to "a favorable environment to achieve solid agreements on the problem of the Korean Peninsula," Ushakov said.

There are also bilateral issues between the two neighboring countries.

Russia would like to gain broader access to North Korea's mineral resources, including rare metals. Pyongyang, for its part, covets Russia's electricity supplies and wants to attract Russian investment to modernize its dilapidated industrial plants, railways and other infrastructure.

In the meantime, Vladivostok has been seeing a number of unusually strict security measures. Maritime authorities said Tuesday that the waters around Russky Island, off the southern tip of Vladivostok, would be closed to all maritime traffic between Wednesday morning and Friday morning.

The island is home to a university with a conference hall, and is seen as a likely summit venue.

Separately, local media reported that some platforms at Vladivostok's main train station would be closed for several days, and that buses will be rerouted from the train station Wednesday.

News website Vl.ru reported that municipal authorities undertook road works to make the entryway in and out of the train station less steep — presumably to allow Kim's motorcade to drive straight out from the platform.

Kim, like his father, avoids air travel and is likely to travel by train to Vladivostok, about 419 miles south of Pyongyang.

Earlier on Tuesday, North Korea confirmed the meeting in a terse, two-sentence statement.

North Korea has so far not gotten what it wants most from the recent flurry of high-level summitry between Kim and various world leaders — namely, relief from crushing international sanctions. There are fears that a recent North Korean weapon test and a series of jibes at Washington over deadlocked nuclear negotiations mean that Pyongyang may again return to the nuclear and long-range missile tests that had many in Asia fearing war in 2017.

Kim had two summits with President Donald Trump, but the latest in Vietnam in February collapsed because North Korea wanted more sanctions relief than Washington was willing to give for the amount of nuclear disarmament offered by Pyongyang.

North Korea announced last week that it had tested what it called a new type of "tactical guided weapon." While unlikely to be a prohibited test of a medium- or long-range ballistic missile that could scuttle the negotiations, the announcement signaled the North's growing disappointment with the diplomatic breakdown.</s>MOSCOW — The Latest on Kim-Putin meeting (all times local):

A Kremlin adviser says that President Vladimir Putin will meet the North Korean leader in Russia's Far East on Thursday.

Yuri Ushakov told Russian news agencies on Tuesday that the much-anticipated talks between Putin and Kim Jong Un would be held in Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean and would focus on North Korea's nuclear program.

Local media have reported preparations and strict security measures undertaken in Vladivostok where the Korean leader is expected to arrive by train.

Kim had two summits with U.S. President Donald Trump, but the latest one in Vietnam in February collapsed because North Korea wanted more sanctions relief than the United States was willing to give for the amount of nuclear disarmament.

Preparations are underway for a summit between the leader of North Korea and Russia's president.

The Kremlin confirmed earlier this month that Kim Jong Un would meet with President Putin before the end of the month but has not named the place or date, citing security concerns.

Russia's port city of Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean, in the meantime, is seeing a number of unusually strict security measures.

Maritime authorities said on Tuesday that the waters around Russky Island, the likely summit venue, will be closed for all maritime traffic between Wednesday morning and Friday morning. Separately, local media reported that several platforms at Vladivostok's main train station will be closed for several days.

Kim, like his father, avoids air travel and is likely to travel to Vladivostok by train.</s>VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (AP) — The Latest on the summit between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un (all times local):

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has arrived in Russia's Vladivostok for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kim arrived on his armored train, which pulled into the station in the Pacific port of Vladivostok Wednesday evening. He was greeted by a military orchestra before he got into his personal limousine that traveled with him, and drove away.

Kim's Russia trip comes about two months after his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump failed because of disputes over U.S.-led sanctions on the North.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has arrived in Russia for his summit with President Vladimir Putin in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok.

Russian news agency Tass quoted a local official as saying Kim was given flowers, bread and salt at the Hasan train station after crossing the border.

Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov told Russian media Tuesday that the summit Thursday will focus on North Korea's nuclear program.

Kim's Russia trip comes about two months after his second summit with President Donald Trump failed because of disputes over U.S.-led sanctions on the North.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency said Kim was seen off by officials and residents as he left Pyongyang by his special train at dawn Wednesday.</s>North Korean leader Kim Jong Un crossed the border into Russia on Wednesday by train, Russian media reported, for his first trip there aimed at galvanizing support from President Vladimir Putin while nuclear talks with Washington are in limbo. Kim is expected to project himself as a serious world player with his first meeting with the Russian leader and at the same time seek assistance from a key ally to ease economic pressure brought on by U.S. and international sanctions.

The young leader will meet with Putin in the Russian Pacific port of Vladivostok on Thursday with the nuclear stalemate with the United States topping the agenda, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said. "In the last few months the situation around the peninsula has stabilized somewhat, thanks in large part to North Korea's initiatives of stopping rocket testing and closing its nuclear test site," Ushakov told reporters. "Russia intends to help in any way possible to cement that positive trend." Arriving in an armored train at the Russian border station of Khasan, Kim was greeted with flowers and traditional gifts of bread and salt, the RIA news agency reported, citing an unnamed local government official. He then toured the Russian-Korean Friendship House located at the station, built ahead of a 1986 visit by his late grandfather and state-founder and leader Kim Il Sung who died in 1994, RIA said. "I hope the talks will be successful and useful," he said Wednesday in comments broadcast by Russia's state-owned Rossiya 24 television station. "I hope that we can discuss concrete questions about peace negotiations on the Korean peninsula, and our bilateral relations," he said, speaking through an interpreter. The North's official KCNA news agency reported earlier on Wednesday that Kim departed for Russia accompanied by key aides including Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho and veteran nuclear negotiator Choe Son Hui.

Kim is seeking to rally support from Moscow after his second meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Vietnam in February broke down over differences about demands for Pyongyang to denuclearize and for Washington to drop sanctions. Kim would hope to get a break from crushing sanctions through his unprecedented summit with Putin but that is likely to prove elusive, analysts say. Japan's NHK broadcaster reported citing an unnamed senior Russian official that Putin could propose a restart of the six-party denuclearization talks — which involved the United States, China, Russia, Japan and the two Koreas — last held in 2008. Kim's top security and protocol aides were seen making final checks around Vladivostok station, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency. His chief of staff Kim Chang Son and sister Kim Yo Jong were also spotted in the Far Eastern city earlier this week, South Korean media reported. Vladivostok is the major Russian city to the northeast of the North's border with Russia, which can be reached by train, Kim's preferred mode of international transport. Conspicuously absent from the reported entourage was Kim Yong Chol, who had led talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Kim Yong Chol had been a prominent presence during the leader's four trips to China and two summits with Trump.

U.S. nuclear envoy Stephen Biegun visited Moscow last week for talks with his counterpart Igor Morgulov, which a U.S. State Department official said would continue "to bridge any gaps on the way forward‎." "The United States and the international community is committed to the same goal — the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea," the official said when asked about the Kim-Putin summit. "It is Chairman Kim's commitment to denuclearization upon which the world is focused," he said. Artyom Lukin, a professor at Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, said Kim would want to be seen as a world leader who is not too caught up in ongoing dealings with Washington, Beijing or Seoul. The school's campus is expected to be venue for the summit. "As for Russia, the Putin-Kim summit will reaffirm Moscow's place as a major player on the Korean peninsula. This meeting is important for Russian international prestige," he said. Putin previously held a summit with Kim Jong Un's father and predecessor, Kim Jong Il, in 2002, who also met in 2011 with Dmitry Medvedev, a Putin lieutenant who was then president. The sports complex at the university was closed on Tuesday and workers were seen bringing in furniture, a Reuters TV crew at the site reported. Security guards at the entrance to the campus were searching vehicles as they drove in.</s>MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for a much-anticipated summit Thursday, the Kremlin said, ending weeks of speculation about the meeting’s timing and venue.

Preparations for the meeting in Vladivostok, a Russia city on the Pacific, were held in secrecy because of North Korean security concerns, Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said Tuesday.

Ushakov said the talks would focus on the standoff over the North’s nuclear program, noting that Russia will seek to “consolidate the positive trends” stemming from U.S. President Donald Trump’s meetings with Kim.

Kim left Pyongyang by his special train at dawn Wednesday as he heads to Russia with top government and military officials, according to the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency. It said officials and residents gathered at Pyongyang’s train station to see him off.

Kim will be the first North Korean leader to travel to Russia since his late father, Kim Jong Il, visited in 2011.

Kim Jong Un had two summits with Trump, but the latest in Vietnam in February collapsed because North Korea wanted more relief from sanctions than Washington was willing to give for the amount of nuclear disarmament offered by Pyongyang.

Some experts say Kim could try to bolster his country’s ties with Russia and China as he’s increasingly expressed frustration at the lack of U.S. steps to match the partial disarmament steps he took last year.

It’s not clear how big of a role Russia can play in efforts to restart the nuclear diplomacy. But the summit could allow Putin to try to increase his influence in regional politics and the standoff over North Korea’s nuclear program.

Putin’s adviser added that the Kremlin would try to help “create preconditions and a favorable atmosphere for reaching solid agreements on the problem of the Korean Peninsula,” Ushakov said.

Ushakov pointed at a Russia-China roadmap that offered a step-by-step approach to solving the nuclear standoff and called for sanctions relief and security guarantees to Pyongyang. He noted that the North’s moratorium on nuclear tests and scaling down of U.S.-South Korean military drills helped reduce tensions and created conditions for further progress.

Ushakov said that Putin-Kim summit’s agenda will also include bilateral cooperation. He added that Russia’s trade with North Korea is minuscule at just $34 million last year, mostly because of the international sanctions against Pyongyang.

Russia would like to gain broader access to North Korea’s mineral resources, including rare metals. Pyongyang, for its part, covets Russia’s electricity supplies and wants to attract Russian investment to modernize its dilapidated Soviet-built industrial plants, railways and other infrastructure.

In the meantime, Vladivostok has been seeing a number of unusually strict security measures. Maritime authorities said Tuesday that the waters around Russky Island, off the southern tip of Vladivostok, would be closed to all maritime traffic between Wednesday morning and Friday morning.

The island, which is home to a university with a conference hall, is seen as a likely summit venue.

Separately, local media reported that some platforms at Vladivostok’s main train station would be closed for several days, and that buses will be rerouted from the train station Wednesday.

News website Vl.ru reported that municipal authorities undertook road works to make the entryway in and out of the train station less steep — presumably to allow Kim’s limousine to drive straight out from the platform.

North Korea has so far not gotten what it wants most from the recent flurry of high-level summitry between Kim and various world leaders — namely, relief from crushing international sanctions. There are fears that a recent North Korean weapon test and a series of jibes at Washington over deadlocked nuclear negotiations mean that Pyongyang may again return to the nuclear and long-range missile tests that had many in Asia fearing war in 2017.

North Korea announced last week that it had tested what it called a new type of “tactical guided weapon.” While unlikely to be a prohibited test of a medium- or long-range ballistic missile that could scuttle the negotiations, the announcement signaled the North’s growing disappointment with the diplomatic breakdown.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia on Wednesday morning for his much-anticipated summit with President Vladimir Putin in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok.

North Korean media published photos of Kim saluting an honor guard and waving to people carrying flowers at a rail station before boarding his khaki-green armored train for the lengthy journey. Russian news agency Tass quoted a local official as saying Kim was given flowers, bread and salt at the Hasan train station after crossing the border.

Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov told Russian media the summit on Thursday will focus on North Korea's nuclear program, noting that Russia will seek to "consolidate the positive trends" stemming from President Donald Trump's meetings with Kim.

Kim's Russia trip comes about two months after his second summit with Trump failed because of disputes over U.S.-led sanctions on the North.

Kim will be the first North Korean leader to travel to Russia since his late father, Kim Jong Il, visited in 2011.

Some experts say Kim could try to bolster his country's ties with Russia and China as he's increasingly expressed frustration at the lack of U.S. steps to match the partial disarmament steps he took last year.

It's not clear how big of a role Russia can play in efforts to restart the nuclear diplomacy. But the summit could allow Putin to try to increase his influence in regional politics and the standoff over North Korea's nuclear program.

Putin's adviser added that the Kremlin would try to help "create preconditions and a favorable atmosphere for reaching solid agreements on the problem of the Korean Peninsula," Ushakov said.

Ushakov pointed at a Russia-China roadmap that offered a step-by-step approach to solving the nuclear standoff and called for sanctions relief and security guarantees to Pyongyang. He noted that the North's moratorium on nuclear tests and scaling down of U.S.-South Korean military drills helped reduce tensions and created conditions for further progress.

Ushakov said that Putin-Kim summit's agenda will also include bilateral cooperation. He added that Russia's trade with North Korea is minuscule at just $34 million last year, mostly because of the international sanctions against Pyongyang.

Russia would like to gain broader access to North Korea's mineral resources, including rare metals. Pyongyang, for its part, covets Russia's electricity supplies and wants to attract Russian investment to modernize its dilapidated Soviet-built industrial plants, railways and other infrastructure.

In the meantime, Vladivostok has been seeing a number of unusually strict security measures. Maritime authorities said Tuesday that the waters around Russky Island, off the southern tip of Vladivostok, would be temporarily closed to all maritime traffic.

The island has a university with a conference hall and is seen as a likely summit venue.

Separately, local media reported that some platforms at Vladivostok's main train station would be closed for several days, and that buses will be rerouted from the train station Wednesday.

News website Vl.ru reported on road construction to even out the entrance at the train station, possibly to allow Kim's limousine to drive straight off the platform.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrives by train in Vladivostok, Russia, for his first talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, expected to start Thursday.