Seoul, Oct 25
Russia said Friday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visiting Moscow next year is a possibility, noting that high-level exchanges are always taking place as Pyongyang is its "close neighbour."
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov made the comment to reporters asking about the possibility of the North Korean leader's visit, Yonhap news agency reported quoting Russia's TASS and Sputnik news agencies.
"Of course, close neighbours constantly exchange visits at the highest levels," Peskov was quoted by the media as saying.
Peskov also said Russia is developing "strong ties" with North Korea in "all areas."
The spokesperson's comment came after Russian President Vladimir Putin effectively acknowledged the North's deployment of its troops to Russia in support of its war in Ukraine.
In response to a question about the troop dispatch at a multilateral summit in Kazan, Putin did not deny or confirm the deployment, but said that his government takes the recently signed mutual treaty with North Korea seriously and what Russia does with the North within that framework is "our business".
In an interview with the state-run Rossiya-1 TV channel, Putin reiterated that Moscow and Pyongyang will decide on how to apply Article 4 of a "comprehensive strategic partnership" treaty that includes provisions for mutual defence.
"When we need to decide something, we will certainly make a decision. Our friends in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea have a corresponding position," Putin said, referring to North Korea's official name.
"But I would like to say that it will be our sovereign decision: whether we will apply something or not, where, how. Whether we need it or whether we will be engaged, let's say, only in conducting some exercises, training and sharing experience. This is entirely our own business," he added.