TOKYO (AP) – After three years of watching his fellow leaders mix and mingle while he was secluded in Pyongyang, Kim Jong Un is looking more and more likely to visit Russia in his first trip abroad since taking power in the world’s first look at the young North Korean leader at work on the international stage.
Moscow has invited many world leaders – including Kim and the presidents of China and South Korea – to celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany, which will include a massive parade on Red Square.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said last month the Kremlin had received the “first signals from Pyongyang” the North Korean leader is planning to attend the May 9 festivities. South Korean media quoting anonymous sources in Beijing reported this week that Kim is likely to accept. U.S. President Barack Obama has reportedly decided to stay home, so that awkwardness has apparently been averted.
North Korea has not officially commented on the invitation and still has ample time to decline it.
But choosing Moscow for his first overseas trip would be a strong indication of the direction Kim wants to take his country. It would also provide the outside world with a rare look at a man who, while revered at the center of an intense cult of personality at home, is one of the biggest mysteries in international politics.