PYONGYANG, September 8. /TASS/. Kim Jong-un has received a letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin and confirmed readiness to pay an official visit to Russia, Russian Federation Council (the upper house of parliament) Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko said following a meeting with the North Korean leader on Saturday.

"I have fulfilled Vladimir V. Putin’s assignment and passed along his message. In response, he (Kim Jong-un) said that he confirms his readiness and wish to pay a visit to the Russian Federation," she said, adding that "now diplomats are going to be involved in the work regarding the time and place of the visit."

According to Matviyenko, the North Korean leader plans to discuss the strategy and prospects of cooperation between the two countries with Putin, as well as "a whole range of relevant serious issues of the global agenda." He is convinced that Russia "is playing an extremely important role in the political and diplomatic settlement" of the Korean Peninsula issue, Russian senate speaker added.