North Korea leader says ball is now in US court: Russian official

A senior Russian official who met Kim Jong Un this weekend cited the North Korean leader as saying he did not plan any unilateral steps to denuclearize and was instead awaiting a US response to steps he already took, Russia's RIA news agency reported.

Valentina Matvienko, a Kremlin loyalist and speaker of the upper house of Russia's parliament, met the North Korean leader in Pyongyang on Saturday.
Matvienko said Kim Jong Un had been polite and diplomatic in his remarks about US President Donald Trump, RIA reported. She also quoted him as saying he hoped for Russian backing in weakening US sanctions on North Korea.

Kim "wants peace", Matvienko said after the meeting, which lasted for more than an hour. The timing and place of Kim's visit will be agreed via diplomatic channels, the Russian lawmaker added.

"He confirmed he is ready and willing to make an official visit to Russia," RIA quoted Matvienko as saying.

"He said he does not want to delay (the visit).

"He said: meeting the President of Russia is very important to me, we should discuss the strategy and prospects of our cooperation, I of course would also like to discuss a number of important questions of the global agenda," she said.

Matvienko also said she had passed a message from President Vladimir Putin to Kim. She did not provide further detail.

Kim will not able to attend a forum in Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok next week but will send a delegation of North Korean officials, Matvienko said.