In search of support: Kim Jong-un meets with Vladimir Putin

(Patria) – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet on Thursday in Vladivostok to discuss the international stance on North Korea's nuclear program, the Kremlin announced, as reported by agencies.

This visit is a result of Kim Jong-un's efforts to gain foreign support after US President Donald Trump refused to ease sanctions at the second US-North Korea summit held in February in Vietnam.

This is the first summit between Putin and the North Korean leader, with one main item on the agenda – the nuclear dispute and possible solutions.

Kim Jong-un has already arrived in Vladivostok, a Russian city closest to the two countries' short common border, and can be reached by train, which is Kim's preferred mode of transport.

Reuters writes that Russia, along with Japan, the US, China, and South Korea, has been making efforts for years to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear program. Such negotiations were last held in 2009.

South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Kim In-chul told the media that 'Russia shares our views, including on achieving complete denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and reaching an agreement on lasting peace.'

Analysts estimate that the North Korean leader is trying to show that foreign leaders are still interested in him, and that he has other options besides Washington and Seoul, Reuters writes.

Putin previously met with Kim Jong-un's father and predecessor in 2002. Kim Jong Il visited Russia again in 2011, and his host at the time was then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.