One of North Korea's deputy prime ministers is planning to visit the Russian capital of Moscow this month, a Russian newspaper reported Friday, as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gears up for a trip there next month.

Parlamentskaya Gazeta, an organ of the Russian Federation's Federal Council, said Kim Hyong-jun, the North's envoy to Russia, and Yevgeny Bushmin, deputy speaker of the Russian congress, reached the consensus after a meeting.

The report, however, did not specify which of the seven North Korean deputy prime ministers would travel to Russia.

The visit would be part of events to mark friendly relations between the two communist allies, the report said.

"The visit could be a preparatory step for Kim Jong-un's visit to Russia in May, which is when he will be celebrating the 70th anniversary of Russia's victory in the Second World War," a diplomatic source in Moscow said. (Yonhap)