SEOUL -- North Korean media on Saturday reported a visit to Russia by the country's leader, Kim Jong Il, for the first time since he crossed the Russian border by train July 26, nine days ago.
On the day of Kim's departure, the media only reported that Kim "will soon pay an official visit" to Russia at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin.
Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim and Putin held one-on-one talks Saturday at the Kremlin and discussed "issues of further developing the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries and a series of international issues of common concern."
The news agency reported that the two leaders signed the Moscow Declaration on Thursday and that Kim laid a wreath at the tomb of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin the same day.
The North's Korean Central Broadcasting Station and Radio Pyongyang issued similar reports during broadcasts that began at 9 p.m., according to Japanese monitoring agency Radiopress.