Vladimir Putin has invited Kim Jong Un to Russia in September following the North Korean dictator's meeting with Donald Trump.

The Russian leader had a meeting with North Korean official Kim Yong Nam on Thursday, at which he handed over an invitation for Mr Kim to visit later in 2018.

Kim Yong Nam is the head of the presidium of North Korea's Supreme Assembly.

Putin also said he welcomed the meeting that took place between Mr Trump and Mr Kim in Singapore on Tuesday, adding that the summit has reduced the threat of a major conflict.

The Russian leader added that a war of words between the US and North Korea had "worried the entire world and could entail grave consequences".


Image: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un had a historic meeting on Tuesday

He said the meeting helped "push back that unfavourable scenario and raised prospects for solving all the problems with peaceful and diplomatic means".

The US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has said since the summit there will be no sanctions relief for North Korea until it denuclearises.

Mr Pompeo, who is meeting with Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers in Seoul, is pushing back on reports in North Korean state media that Mr Trump and Mr Kim had agreed on a "step-by-step" process.

The US secretary of state added that "we're going to get denuclearisation" and "only then will there be relief from sanctions".

He added that Mr Trump and Mr Kim had a "blunt conversation" about the changes needed for North Korea to rejoin the world community.

Mr Putin's invitation to Mr Kim comes after Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov visited Pyongyang in May for the first time since 2009.

He said to the North Korean leader in televised footage: "Come to Russia.

"We would be very happy to see you."