UPDATE - N.Korean leader Kim to visit Russia, confirms Moscow

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT FROM RUSSIA, MORE DETAILS; CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE

By Riyaz ul Khaliq and Elena Teslova

ISTANBUL / MOSCOW, Russia (AA) - Moscow on Monday confirmed that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is set to visit Russia "in the coming days."

"At the invitation of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, the Chairman of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Kim Jong-un, will pay an official visit to the Russian Federation in the coming days," said a Kremlin statement.

The news comes days after the White House claimed that secretive talks between Russia and North Korea to supply the Kremlin with munitions for its war effort in Ukraine are "actively advancing." Last week The New York Times reported that Kim would travel by rail to the Russian Far East city of Vladivostok to discuss a possible weapons deal.

Earlier Monday, an unnamed South Korean official told Seoul-based Yonhap News that a special North Korean train “believed to be carrying” Kim has departed for Russia.

Heightened security measures were put in place around a train station in Vladivostok on Monday after South Korean officials claimed Kim was "believed" to be traveling to Russia.

Kim is believed to be attending the 2023 Eastern Economic Forum, which is currently taking place in Vladivostok and will last through Wednesday.

The North Korean leader last visited Russia in 2019.

"A large number of police personnel were spotted inside Vladivostok station, unlike the previous day," said the Yonhap report.

It added: "Soldiers with service dogs, men in black suits, as well as a black car surrounded by police officials entering the platform were also seen at the station, although it was unclear whether the vehicle was related to Kim's possible visit."