N. Korea cancels leader’s visit to Russia: Kyodo

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has canceled his plan to visit Russia for health reasons, said Kyodo News of Japan Wednesday, quoting multiple sources in Moscow as saying Kim is in ill health.

"Russia prepared a carpet for Kim at the station bordering Russia and North Korea and also finished setting up fences at the platform at Pyongyang`s request,” said Japanese TV network Fuji Television, adding, "But North Korea called off his visit Wednesday.”

Kim was scheduled to hold talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at a guest house in a suburb of Vladivostok.

Moscow suggested holding a round of the six-party nuclear talks in the run-up to the summit while Pyongyang asked for fuel and food aid. As they failed to agree on the agenda, the North canceled Kim`s trip.

Russia suggested the building of natural gas pipelines to South Korea via North Korea as a summit agenda item in a meeting between Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and North Korean Ambassador to Russia Kim Young-jae Tuesday, but the North declined.

"Russia and North Korea could have held a summit but this apparently won`t take place at this point," said a source in Seoul Wednesday, adding, "But we cannot say the summit won`t take place going forward."

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