A statement issued by the White House read, “Urge North Korea to abide by commitments and not sell Russia arms”.

Pyongyang: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin were set to hold a summit in Russia, the two nations have said, with Kim’s armoured train heading for Russia in what could be a significant indication over “growing military cooperation” between Pyongyang and  Moscow. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) confirmed early on Tuesday that Kim had left Pyongyang for Russia aboard his train Sunday afternoon, accompanied by leading officials of the North’s ruling party and the armed forces, Yonhap news agency reported.

The KCNA said Kim “left here by his train on Sunday afternoon to visit the Russian Federation”, without saying whether the train had crossed its border. The agency further reported that Kim “will meet and have a talk with Comrade Putin during the visit”. The Kremlin also confirmed that Kim will visit Russia “in coming days” at the invitation of Putin, according to the Russian news agency TASS.

Photos released by North Korea’s state media showed Kim being accompanied by Pyongyang’s Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, as well as top military officials Ri Pyong-chol and Pak Jong-chon.

State media showed photographs of Kim walking past honor guards and crowds of civilians holding the national flag and flowers, and also of him waving from his green-and-yellow armored train before it left the station.

A group of senior officials were at the station to give the leader a “hearty send-off,” according to the Korean Central News Agency. However, Citing unidentified Russian regional officials, Japanese broadcaster TBS reported that Kim’s train crossed the border and arrived in the border town of Khasan.

A brief statement on the Kremlin’s website on Monday said the visit is at Putin’s invitation and would take place “in the coming days.” KCNA said the leaders would meet — without specifying when and where.

A possible venue is the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, where Putin arrived Monday to attend an international forum that runs through Wednesday, according to Russia’s TASS news agency. The city, located about 425 miles (680 kilometers) north of Pyongyang, was also the site of Putin’s first meeting with Kim in 2019.

The visit would be Kim’s first foreign trip since the COVID-19 pandemic, which had forced North Korea to enforce tight border controls for more than three years to shield its poor health care system. While Kim has shown to be more comfortable using planes than his famously flight-adverse father, he has also used his personal train for previous meetings with Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and former U.S. President Donald Trump, reviving a symbol of his family’s dynastic rule.

Meanwhile, The United States has issued an official statement urging North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to ‘not sell arms to Russia’. A statement issued by the White House read, “Urge North Korea to abide by commitments and not sell Russia arms”.