North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will "soon" visit Russia to hold talks with President Vladimir Putin, Pyongyang's state media reported Monday, with a special train believed to be carrying him apparently heading for Russia.

The North's leader will soon visit Russia at the invitation of Putin, the Korean Central News Agency reported, adding that Kim "will meet and have a talk with Comrade Putin during the visit."

But it did not elaborate on details such as the timing of Kim's arrival or when the summit would take place.

The Kremlin also confirmed that the North Korean leader will visit the country "in the coming days," according to Russia's TASS news agency.

The confirmation of the meeting comes after a South Korean government official told Yonhap News Agency earlier in the day that intelligence authorities here believe Kim's special train is traveling to Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok.

If held, it will mark the first meeting between Kim and Putin since April 2019, when they held the first summit in Vladivostok.

The New York Times reported last week that Kim plans to travel to Vladivostok, possibly by armored train this month, for talks with Putin to discuss the North's potential supply of its artillery shells and other weaponry for Moscow's war in Ukraine. (Yonhap)