Russian foreign minister 'soon' to visit NK

Russia's top diplomat will visit North Korea to meet amid ongoing preparations for Pyongyang to hold its unprecedented summit with the United States, according to the North's state-media on Wednesday.

The Korean Central News Agency reported that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will "soon" visit Pyongyang at the invitation of North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho.

It did not say when he exactly will arrive in the North and what the agenda the two will discuss will be. A Russian media company earlier reported that Lavrov will visit Pyongyang on Thursday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (AFP-Yonhap)

Lavrov's trip appears to be intended to reciprocate Ri's visit to Moscow last month.

It also comes amid fast-paced diplomatic developments related to preparations for North Korea and the US to hold their first summit talks ever next month that will likely focus on how to rid the North of its nuclear weapons program. (Yonhap)