SEOUL: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad link> said he plans to visit North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un link>, Pyongyang's state media reported on Sunday, potentially becoming the first head of state to meet Kim inside the isolated country.
"I am going to visit the DPRK and meet... Kim Jong-un," Assad said, the North's state-run KCNA news agency reported, using the abbreviated version of the country's official name.
The announcement came as anticipation mounts for a historic nuclear summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12, link> following a whirlwind round of diplomacy.
"The world welcomes the remarkable events in the Korean peninsula brought about recently by the outstanding political calibre and wise leadership of... Kim Jong-un," KCNA cited Assad as saying during a meeting with North Korean Ambassador Mun Jong-nam link> on Wednesday.