Kim to meet with Putin as tensions with US rise

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will reportedly meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a forthcoming visit to Russia.

Kim intends to visit the Russian Federation at Putin’s invitation by the end of April, according to the Associated Press, citing the Kremlin and North Korea’s state-owned Korean Central News Agency.

{mosads}The announcement comes as Russia is seeking increased access to North Korean mineral resources while Pyongyang seeks electricity supplies and Moscow’s investment to modernize its infrastructure, most of which was built by the Soviet Union, according to the AP.

U.S.-North Korea relations, meanwhile, have shown signs of strain in recent months. Last week, North Korea conducted its first weapons test since the failure of a February summit between President Trump and Kim, the two leaders’ second meeting on denuclearization.  Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan emphasized that the test did not violate either United Nations sanctions or a testing moratorium Trump and Kim agreed to because the weapon was not a ballistic missile.

Also last week, North Korean officials reportedly said they no longer want to negotiate with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in nuclear discussions, saying that whenever Pompeo “pokes his nose in, talks between the two countries go wrong without any results even from the point close to success.”

Kim has reportedly been optimistic about continued progress in talks with the U.S., however, saying earlier this month that he expects the nations to reach a nuclear deal by the end of the year.