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| Andrew Kim, center, the former head of the CIA's Korea Mission Center, arrives with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday, July 6, 2018. AP-Yonhap |
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is seeking to visit Russia in an apparent move to boast his close ties with the neighboring country after the breakdown of his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, a former U.S. intelligence official was quoted as saying.
Andrew Kim, who retired last year as head of the Central Intelligence Agency's Korea Mission Center, made the remark during a closed-door lecture in Seoul on Wednesday, according to local daily Donga Ilbo.
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| In this photo released by North Korean state TV broadcaster KCTV in May 2018, Andrew Kim, in circle, and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, second from left, and his aides in Pyongyang. Yonhap |
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The former CIA official arrived in South Korea on Monday, the report said.
Speculation has arisen that the North's Kim could pay his first trip to Russia following the breakdown of his second summit with Trump in Hanoi last month.
Pyongyang has been stepping up its diplomacy with Moscow, with three senior North Korean officials making back-to-back visits to Russia this month. (Yonhap)
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