Russia is exquisitely trolling the West

Kim Jong-un is to visit Moscow later this year in his first foreign trip since succeeding his father as supreme leader of North Korea.

The Kremlin confirmed Kim would attend ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of Victory Day - the date of Nazi Germany's capitulation to the Soviet Union at the end of World War 2 - in Moscow in May.

The participation of the North Korean leader has been confirmed, we are preparing for his arrival.

• Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov, speaking to the Interfax news agency.

It is understood that US president Barack Obama has also been invited to attend the commemorations.

While the invite being extended to Kim is a clear snub to Western condemnation of the Pyongyang regime, the North Korean leader is also playing politics, trying to lessen his country's dependence upon China, its only serious ally.

Kim Jong-il visited Russia months before his death in 2011, travelling via an armoured train for a rare meeting with then president Dmitry Medvedev.

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