Putin’s visit to South Korea planned for next year

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the Republic of Korea is planned for next year, Federation Council (upper house) Speaker Valentina Matviyenko told journalists on Saturday following her official visit to Seoul.

"Vladimir V. (Putin) accepted the invitation of President of the Republic of Korea (Moon Jae-in), and the visit is planned for next year. Now the task is to coordinate the time through the foreign ministries," she said. Matviyenko stressed that "it will take time" to prepare the trip to make it "a meaningful visit." After the preparations made, and the timing coordinated, "such a visit is likely to take place next year," she added.

According to the upper house speaker, Putin’s visit to South Korea will follow the visit of "DPRK leader Kim Jong-un to Russia planned by the yearend." "Of course, President (Putin’s) visit to the Republic of Korea will take place after that visit as it is planned for next year," she noted.

As part of an official visit to South Korea, Matviyenko had a meeting with President Moon Jae-in, which focused on a whole range of issues related to the Moscow-Seoul relationship, she said. In September, Matviyenko visited Pyongyang where she met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.