MOSCOW - North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's armoured train arrived Tuesday in an eastern Siberian city for a summit with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
The North Korean leader stepped out of his train in Ulan-Ude, the capital of Buryatia, a Buddhist province near Lake Baikal, Russian news agencies reported. Kim's motorcade left town in the direction of Turka, a picturesque village on the shores of Baikal.
The Yonhap news agency said the Medvedev-Kim summit is expected to take place Wednesday but did not elaborate.
There had been signs that preparations were being made for Kim to visit Turka. The Baikal Daily website quoted residents as saying that a local police officer had been making the rounds to take down the names and addresses of all the people in the village.
Another local news organization, Inform Polis Online, reported on Tuesday that a cruise ship is waiting for Kim at the bay outside the village for a possible trip on the lake. The area is flooded with North Korean and Russian security officers and ambulances, the news website said.
Kim is expected to meet Medvedev this week for talks that could focus on a natural gas pipeline deal. The pipeline would stream Russian natural gas through the North's territory to the South. South Korea media said the North could earn up to $100 million every year, but negotiations haven't reported much progress because of a standoff over North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons.
The JoongAng Ilbo newspaper, however, raised worries Monday that the North could abruptly shut down the gas supply if relations deteriorated with the South.
The North Korean leader's visit is shrouded in mystery. A few people managed to take photos of Kim at his previous stop on Sunday, but heavy police cordons kept the media in Ulan-Ude away from the train station and the adjacent square.
Anna Ogorodnik, a photographer from Ulan-Ude, told the Associated Press by phone that nearby streets were full of riot police. The station square looked clean and deserted after authorities had tugged away cars and local buses.
The windows of the station building overlooking the tracks were plastered with sheets of paper and station employees had been ordered to stay indoors, Ogorodnik said.
The photographer said she had been detained after trying to take pictures. She was released after she had presented her journalist ID.
The station square remains cordoned off and Kim's train is still at the station, Ogorodnik said.
It is Kim's first visit to his country's Cold War ally in nine years.
Russian military officials, meanwhile, arrived in the North Korean capital on Monday for a five-day visit. The Russian Defence Ministry said the talks will focus on the renewal of military co-operation between the countries, possible joint exercises "of a humanitarian nature" and an exchange of friendly visits by Russian and North Korean ships, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported from Pyongyang.
The itinerary for Kim's visit, expected to last about a week, has been largely kept secret because of what appears to be high security concern from North Korea.
