Russia’s Putin to visit North Korea for the first time in 24 years

Russian president to embark on state visit on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Kremlin says.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit North Korea this week for the first time in 24 years, the two countries say, a rare trip that underscores Moscow’s burgeoning partnership with the nuclear-armed state.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un extended an invitation to Putin when Kim visited Russia’s Far East in September.

“At the invitation of the Chairman of State Affairs of the DPRK, Kim Jong Un,…