North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reached Russia on Wednesday for a summit with President Vladimir Putin.
A train carrying Kim arrived in the Russian Pacific city of Vladivostok on Wednesday, in advance of a summit later this week with Russian president, report Reuters and BBC.
He was welcomed by officials with a traditional offering of bread and salt.
Earlier on Wednesday Kim crossed the border into Russia by train for his first trip there, aimed at galvanising support from Russia while nuclear talks with Washington are in limbo.
Putin and Kim Jong Un will meet on Thursday in Vladivostok to discuss the international standoff over Pyongyang’s nuclear programme, a Kremlin official said on Tuesday.
The Kremlin says they will discuss the Korean peninsula's "nuclear problem", but analysts say Kim is also seeking support after talks with US President Donald Trump collapsed.
Trump and Kim met in Hanoi earlier this year to discuss North Korea's nuclear weapons programme, but the summit - their second - ended without agreement.
The North Korean leader greeted Russian officials warmly on his arrival in Vladivostok on Wednesday.
After tasting traditional korovai bread and salt, Kim was entertained by a brass band before he got inside a car flanked by bodyguards who - in now familiar scenes - jogged alongside the vehicle as it departed.
"I arrived in Russia bearing the warm feelings of our people, and as I already said, I hope this visit will be successful and useful," Kim told Russian channel Rossiya 24.
"I hope that during the talks with respected President Putin, I will be able to discuss in a concrete manner issues relating to the settlement of the situation on the Korean peninsula, and to the development of our bilateral relations."
What do we know about the summit?
North Korean state media has yet to confirm a time or location for the meeting.
But Russian and North Korean national flags are already in place on Vladivostok's Russky island, where the summit is expected to take place.
The North Korean leader reportedly crossed into Russia on Wednesday and stepped out of his private train at the border city of Khasan.
He was greeted by Russian women in traditional dress as part of a symbolic welcome ceremony.
What do both sides want?
This visit is being widely viewed as an opportunity for North Korea to show it has powerful allies following the breakdown of nuclear talks with the US earlier this year, the BBC's Laura Bicker says.
The country has blamed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for the collapse of the Hanoi summit in February.
Earlier this month North Korea demanded that Pompeo be removed from nuclear talks, accusing him of "talking nonsense" and asking for someone "more careful" to replace him.
The summit is also an opportunity for Pyongyang to show that its economic future does not depend solely on the US, our correspondent adds.
Analysts believe this summit is a chance for Russia to show that it is an important player on the Korean peninsula.
President Putin has been eager to meet the North Korean leader for quite some time. Yet amid the two Trump-Kim summits, the Kremlin has been somewhat sidelined.
Russia, like the US and China, is uncomfortable with North Korea being a nuclear state.
Senior officials say the Kremlin is hoping to see a reduction in tensions on the peninsula.
Putin's foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, said the situation there had "stabilised somewhat" in recent months.
"Russia intends to help in any way possible to cement that positive trend," he told reporters on Tuesday.
Russia has previously been involved in talks to end North Korea's nuclear programme.
Former North Korean leader and Kim's father, Kim Jong-il, met then-Russian president Dmitry Medvedev in 2011.
A South Korean foreign ministry spokesman said Russia "shares our viewpoints" on denuclearisation and peace on the peninsula.
Nuclear activity seems to be continuing in North Korea, and the country said it had tested a new "tactical guided weapon" - thought to be a short-range missile - earlier in April.
