After finishing a yachting holiday Kim Jong-il has now taken his private train for a trip to Russia to likely discuss the proposed gas line that through North Korea that the Russians have been pushing:

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il praised the development that is being seen in Russia as he was welcomed by officials at the start of a rare trip to the Cold War era ally, North Korean state media reported Sunday.

Kim crossed into Russia on his armored train Saturday at the invitation of President Dmitry Medvedev, with the two leaders reportedly planning a summit aimed at discussing the restart of nuclear disarmament talks and the construction of a pipeline that would stream Russian natural gas to North and South Korea.

The train stopped in the Russian border city of Khasan on Saturday morning before moving on to its next destination, the official Korean Central News Agency reported from Pyongyang. KCNA and the Kremlin had said earlier that Kim would visit Russia’s Far East region and Siberia.

At Khasan’s railway station, Kim was greeted by senior Russian officials, including Viktor Ishayev, presidential envoy to the Far East Region of the Russian Federation, KCNA said.

The Russian officials said Kim’s trip would mark a historic occasion in moving bilateral ties to a “fresher and higher stage,” KCNA said. Kim replied he was very pleased to see the achievements of the Russian people and thanked the Russian officials and people for warmly welcoming him, it said.  [Associated Press]