Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a press briefing that the dates for the Pyongyang visit will likely be nailed down when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visits the North Korean capital this month.
Mr. Putin, who has made no foreign trips this year beyond visits to Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine, has already announced plans to travel to China this month to attend a conference on President Xi Jinping’s One Belt/One Road global financing program. The Biden administration this week expressed renewed concerns that the burgeoning North Korean-Russian alliance could include expanded shipments of North Korean artillery and other military equipment to bolster Mr. Putin’s struggling forces in Ukraine.
One place Mr. Putin will likely not be visiting is San Francisco, where President Biden next month will host the annual meeting of leaders of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. Mr. Putin has limited his foreign travels in part because he faces an indictment for war crimes from the International Criminal Court over the actions of invading Russian forces in Ukraine.