VLADIVOSTOK, Nigeria  24 Apr (ANA) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has arrived in the far east of Russia for a summit with President Vladimir Putin.

 

Mr Kim arrived in the Pacific Coast city of Vladivostok for his first talks with the Russian president by train.

 

He was welcomed by officials with a traditional offering of bread and salt.

 

The Kremlin says they will discuss the Korean peninsula's "nuclear problem", but analysts say Mr Kim is also seeking support after talks with US President Donald Trump collapsed.

 

Mr Trump and Mr Kim met in Hanoi earlier this year to discuss North Korea's nuclear weapons programme, but the summit - their second - ended without agreement.

 

The North Korean leader greeted Russian officials warmly on his arrival in Vladivostok on Wednesday.

 

After tasting traditional korovai bread and salt, Mr Kim was entertained by a brass band before he got inside a car flanked by bodyguards who - in now familiar scenes - jogged alongside the vehicle as it departed.

 

"I arrived in Russia bearing the warm feelings of our people, and as I already said, I hope this visit will be successful and useful," Mr Kim told Russian channel Rossiya 24.

 

"I hope that during the talks with respected President Putin, I will be able to discuss in a concrete manner issues relating to the settlement of the situation on the Korean peninsula, and to the development of our bilateral relations."

 

North Korean state media has yet to confirm a time or location for the meeting.

 

But Russian and North Korean national flags are already in place on Vladivostok's Russky island, where the summit is expected to take place.

 

The North Korean leader reportedly crossed into Russia on Wednesday and stepped out of his private train at the border city of Khasan.

 

He was greeted by Russian women in traditional dress as part of a symbolic welcome ceremony.

 

This visit is being widely viewed as an opportunity for North Korea to show it has powerful allies following the breakdown of nuclear talks with the US earlier this year, the BBC's Laura Bicker says.

 

The country has blamed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for the collapse of the Hanoi summit in February.

 

Earlier this month North Korea demanded that Mr Pompeo be removed from nuclear talks, accusing him of "talking nonsense" and asking for someone "more careful" to replace him.

 

The summit is also an opportunity for Pyongyang to show that its economic future does not depend solely on the US.(ANA)

FA/ANA/24 April 2019--------