SEOUL (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he plans to visit North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, North Korean state media reported on Sunday, potentially the first meeting between Kim and another head of state in Pyongyang. “I am going to visit the DPRK and meet HE Kim Jong Un,” Assad said on May 30, North Korea’s KCNA news agency reported, using the initials of the country’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The KCNA report said Assad made the comments May 30 while receiving the credentials for the North Korean ambassador. Since the beginning of the year, however, North Korea’s Kim has launched a flurry of diplomatic meetings with leaders in China and South Korea, and is scheduled to hold a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12. “I am sure that he will achieve the final victory and realize the reunification of Korea without fail.” 
 
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 According to South Korea’s foreign ministry, North Korea established diplomatic relations with Syria in 1966, opening its embassy in Damascus.
– North Korea's state-run news agency reported Sunday that Syria's President Bashar al-Assad is interested in visiting North Korea and meeting leader Kim Jong Un. The KCNA report said Assad made the comments May 30 while receiving the credentials for the North Korean ambassador, reports the AP. "I am going to visit the DPRK and meet HE Kim Jong Un," Assad was quoted as saying, using the acronym for the North's official name. There was no indication that such a trip had been planned. "The world welcomes the remarkable events in the Korean peninsula brought about recently by the outstanding political caliber and wise leadership of HE Kim Jong Un," Assad said, according to KCNA, via Reuters. "I am sure that he will achieve the final victory and realize the reunification of Korea without fail." Syria's government did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday. The report comes as international attention is focused on a summit between Kim and President Trump scheduled for June 12 in Singapore.