North Korea's Kim Jong Un has photo session, but quiet amid talk of Russia visit

SEOUL – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday attended a photo session with participants celebrating the

75th anniversary of the country's founding

but stayed away from other events amid reports that he

would soon leave for a trip to Russia.

The celebrations were packed with dedications of floral baskets to past leaders, banquets, concerts for a visiting Chinese delegation, and a performance by a Russian army song and dance ensemble, according to KCNA news agency on Sunday.

KCNA made no mention of Mr Kim other than his attendance at a photo session at the courtyard of the mausoleum that houses the bodies of his father and grandfather, as he praised the people “who put state affairs above their family affairs in good or bad days”.

“The patriots are the best assets representing the very might of the country... as the Workers’ Party of Korea is ushering in the era of great transformation unprecedented in the history of the country by relying on such people,” he said.

Mr Kim was expected to travel to Russia's far-eastern city of Vladivostok to meet President Vladimir Putin

to discuss weapons supplies and other military cooperation, likely on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum scheduled to start on Sunday.

North Korea’s state media has been silent about the trip, first reported by The New York Times citing American officials, which South Korea’s intelligence agency said was possible. The Kremlin said it had “nothing to say” on the matter.

If he makes the trip, probably by his armoured train, it would be just the second visit to Russia for Mr Kim as he looks to forge deeper ties with an increasingly isolated Moscow, and at a time when Pyongyang can reap clear benefits from Mr Putin's need for friends.

North Korea and Russia have denied being in arms negotiations, but the United States last week said such talks are actively advancing and warned that it would be

a mistake for Mr Kim to supply weapons that Mr Putin can use in Ukraine.

Pyongyang in turn may be looking to fill shortfalls in military resources, such as in its development of nuclear weapons that can be delivered by ballistic missiles and nuclear submarines, analysts have said.

Last week, Mr Kim attended the launch of what North Korea called its

first “tactical nuclear attack submarine”,

a vessel that appeared to be a modified Soviet-era submarine with 10 launch tube hatches.

South Korea’s military said the submarine did not appear ready for normal operations, and that there were signs North Korea was attempting to fabricate or exaggerate its capabilities. REUTERS