"Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, will visit the Russian Federation soon to attend the opening ceremony of the 2018 FIFA World Cup," the agency said in a statement.

Kim's possible visit was announced on Monday by First Deputy Speaker of the lower house of the Russian parliament Ivan Melnikov. During his meeting with the North Korean delegation on the sidelines of the Development of Parliamentarism forum in Moscow, Melnikov said that he was looking forward to meeting the senior North Korean official.