Kim Jong-un could travel to Moscow to attend anniversary celebrations of WWII following 'positive' indication to Russian government

The trip would be Kim’s first trip abroad since he became North Korea’s supreme leader

Kim Jong-un could be set to make his first official foreign visit since taking control of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to Moscow after the Kremlin indicated it has received a “positive” signal from the leader.

Kim had been invited to Russia’s celebrations to mark the Soviet victory over Germany during the Second World War, and the Kremlin has indicated that the North Korean leader could be in attendance at the 9 May event.

Asked at a news conference on Wednesday about Pyongyang’s response to the Russian invitation, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov replied: “The first signal was positive”. He did not elaborate.

If the trip goes through it would mark Kim’s first foreign visit in his capacity of North Korea’s supreme leader since he took the helm in 2011.

It comes at a time when Moscow and Pyongyang are looking to boost ties while North Korea is seeking support from Russia against international criticism over accusations of human rights abuses.

North Korea currently faces being referred to the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity after a resolution was passed by the U.N. General Assembly committee calling for the Security Council to take action on this.

Russia could be a strong ally for North Korea as it is a permanent member of the Security Council and holds rights to veto and could stop this process in its tracks.

Additional reporting by Reuters News Agency