Putin will pop into Pyongyang and stop by Vietnam, Russian media reports

Russian ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora confirmed to Vedomosti that the president’s visit to Pyongyang will happen and is being “actively prepared”.

The newspaper said Putin could visit Vietnam as early as June and most likely immediately after his visit to North Korea.

The Kremlin has said Russia wants to build a partnership with North Korea “in all areas” but has yet to confirm the date of the visit.

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Vedomosti said Putin and Kim may discuss whether Russia will bring in migrant workers from North Korea. Russia is suffering acute labour shortages because of the Ukraine war; many hundreds of thousands of men have either gone to fight or fled abroad to avoid being mobilised.

Putin’s only previous trip to North Korea was in 2000, the first year of his presidency.

Vedomosti quoted Russia’s trade representative in Vietnam as saying last month that the most pressing trade issue between the two countries was banking support for settling payments.