Putin to visit Seoul in February

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit South Korea in February, Kyodo News Agency of Japan reported Saturday.

The agency said that the Russian and South Korean governments had agreed in principle on the Putin¡¯s Seoul visit.

Quoting a diplomatic source in Moscow, the agency said that Russia, currently maintaining equidistance diplomacy on the Korean peninsula, had been deliberating on whether Putin would visit Seoul before or after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il makes a trip to Moscow, and decided that Putin¡¯s Seoul visit would come first.

In connection with North Korean National Defense Commission Chairman Kim's proposed visit to Moscow, the North has been expressing reluctance to accept Russia¡¯s suggestion that Kim visit in April, saying that it would be much easier to protect Kim during the winter. The North Korean leader would use the trans-Siberian railway, the news agency said.