North Korean leader Kim Jong Il arrived in Russia's far eastern city of Khasan by train Saturday on a rare trip outside his isolated nation, South Korean and Chinese media reported.
"We understand Chairman Kim's special train pulled into Khasan Station at about 10 am after crossing the North Korean border into Russia and that a welcoming ceremony is happening there," Yonhap news agency quoted an unidentified South Korean government source as saying, dpa reported.
The agency quoted an "informed source in Moscow" as saying Kim was scheduled to hold talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in the Siberian city of Ulan Ude on Tuesday.
A South Korean official told the agency that Kim could meet both Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and that the North Korean leader was expected to spend about one week in Russia.
China's official Xinhua news agency also quoted Russian media as saying Kim had arrived by train in Khasan on Saturday and planned to travel to Ulan Ude to meet Medvedev.
It said North Korea's state news agency KCNA reported later Saturday that Kim "will pay an unofficial visit to Siberia and the Far Eastern region of the Russian Federation" at Medvedev's invitation.
North Korea des not normally confirm Kim's trips abroad until he returns to Pyongyang.
Kim was also expected to visit a dam in Ussuriysk, 112 kilometres north of Vladivostok, Yonhap quoted other sources as saying.
Kim's last known trip outside North Korea was a visit to China in May.