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The front page of the Oct. 16 edition of the Russian daily Izvestia.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is planning to visit Russia before the US midterm elections that will be held early next month, a Russian newspaper reported on Oct. 16.

Kim will be visiting Russia at the end of October or the beginning of November, before the midterm elections on Nov. 6, daily newspaper Izvestia reported, quoting three South Korean diplomatic sources. According to the newspaper, Moscow and Vladivostok are being considered as locations for the summit.

“The North Korean leader [Kim Jong-un] has been invited to visit Russia. We’re reviewing the possible date, location and manner of visit,” said Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov.

The North Korean embassy in Moscow told Izvestia that it didn’t have any information about Kim’s visit to Russia but that “the exact date will depend on the decision of the two leaders.”

The second page of the Oct. 16 edition of the Russian daily Izvestia.

Russia has invited Kim to visit several times since dialogue between North Korea and the US began with the goal of the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The first indication came when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met Kim during a visit to Pyongyang on May 31 and delivered a personal letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin inviting Kim to visit Russia.

At the time, Lavrov reportedly communicated Putin’s hope that Kim would either attend the Eastern Economic Forum, which was held in Vladivostok in September, or make a separate trip to Russia. Russian Federation Council (Senate) Chairwoman Valentina Ivanovna Matviyenko, who visited North Korea to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of North Korea’s government on Sept. 9, said during a recent visit to South Korea that Kim’s visit to Russia could take place this year.

And during the cabinet meeting on Oct. 8, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he expected Kim’s visit to Russia to happen soon in addition to the second North Korea-US summit, and that Chinese President Xi Jinping would be visiting North Korea as well.

Izvestia also quoted experts as saying that Kim’s visit to Russia was expected to give him more room to maneuver in the upcoming second North Korea-US summit. Experts said that Kim’s best option was to arrange for Xi to make his first visit to Pyongyang and to wrap up his summit with Putin before his summit with US President Donald Trump, thus securing the support of both Russia and China before the summit. With attention riveted on the upcoming North Korea-US summit, Trump said the summit would take place after the US midterm elections on Nov. 6.

By Kim Mi-na, staff reporter

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