North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed at their first summit on Thursday to work together to address issues related to the Korean Peninsula, with attention focusing on whether denuclearization of the region will move forward.

At the meeting in Russia's eastern port city of Vladivostok, the two leaders are also believed to confirm that international economic sanctions imposed on Pyongyang should be eased depending on the progress of nuclear disarmament.

After shaking hands at the outset of the one-on-one summit, Kim told Putin that this opportunity is "meaningful for assessing problems" of the divided peninsula, while Putin said the North Korean leader's visit would help Russia figure out what it can do to tackle them.

Putin appreciated Kim's efforts to normalize relations with South Korea and the United States, saying Russia wants to facilitate that "favorable process."

The Russian president voiced readiness to bolster cooperation with North Korea in establishing a peace mechanism for the peninsula and boosting trade and humanitarian assistance to Pyongyang.

The Putin-Kim meeting and an ensuing expanded meeting took place around two months after the collapse of the second summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi in late February.

Kim -- who is making his first trip to Russia since becoming supreme leader in the wake of the death of his father in 2011 -- is scheduled to stay in Vladivostok at least until Friday.

State-run North Korean media on Thursday reported Kim's visit to Russia and published photos.

The last visit by a North Korean leader to Russia was made by Kim's father, Kim Jong Il, in August 2011.

In a rare interaction with foreign media, Kim Jong Un told Russian state-run TV on Wednesday that he believes his talks with Putin "will be an opportunity for very useful dialogue aimed at jointly coordinating the regional situation."

Kim has called for the lifting of international economic sanctions designed to prevent Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile development, saying his nation has already started to take concrete steps toward denuclearization.

Kim, who has recently pledged to build a "powerful socialist economy," may be asking for the cooperation of Russia -- one of the five veto-wielding permanent members of the U.N. Security Council -- in the easing of the economic sanctions.

Moscow, meanwhile, appears to be willing to deepen its economic relations with Pyongyang, given that the economy in Russia's Far Eastern region has long been supported by workers from North Korea.

At their Feb. 27-28 summit in the Vietnamese capital, Kim and Trump fell short of bridging the gap between Washington's denuclearization demands and Pyongyang's calls for sanctions relief.

Trump said after the Hanoi summit that North Korea committed to "totally" dismantling its main Yongbyon nuclear complex, but the lifting of the sanctions would require it to scrap other nuclear facilities and programs, including undeclared ones.

In his speech at a session of the country's top legislature on April 12, Kim urged the United States to shift its stance in nuclear talks by the end of this year, expressing eagerness to meet again with Trump depending on the attitude Washington adopts.

North Korea was established on Sept. 9, 1948, backed by the Soviet Union, of which Russia is the main successor. Ties between Moscow and Pyongyang have been often described as "traditional friendly relations."

With denuclearization negotiations with the United States at a standstill, Kim has been also trying to improve ties with South Korea and China, known as North Korea's closest and most influential ally.

Since making his first foreign trip as leader to Beijing in March 2018, Kim has held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping four times and thrice with South Korean President Moon Jae In.

North Korea and the United States remain technically at war as the 1950-1953 Korean War -- in which U.S.-led multinational forces fought alongside the South against the North, backed by China and the Soviet Union -- ended in a cease-fire.