Russian president Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un began one-on-one talks in Russia on Thursday focused on discussions over the future of the Korean peninsula, as Moscow seeks to insert itself into negotiations that have previously been led by the US and China.

The first-ever summit between the two leaders and Mr Kim's first-ever visit to Russia come just two months after the North Korean dictator's second set of talks with US president Donald Trump ended abruptly with no progress on easing economic sanctions against the isolated communist country.

"I am confident that your visit to Russia today will also contribute to strengthening relations between our countries…and will allow us to better understand how we can resolve the situation on the Korean peninsula, what we can do together, what Russia can do to support the positive processes that are happening now,” Mr Putin told his guest at the beginning of an hour of private talks at a university in Vladivostok, on Russia's eastern coast.