Kim, Medvedev to meet Wednesday: source

MOSCOW (AFP) -- The summit between North Korea's Kim Jong-Il and President Dmitry Medvedev is set to take place on Wednesday in the eastern Siberian city of Ulan-Ude, a person familiar with the plan told AFP.

"The guest is arriving tomorrow," the person, who refused to go on the record because of the sensitivity of the situation, said on Monday.

"Our (leader) will be there Wednesday," he said.

The talks will take place in the eastern Siberian city of Ulan-Ude near Lake Baikal in the Buddhist region of Buryatia, 5,550 kilometres (3,450 miles) east of Moscow, he said.

Kim will also be shown around the picturesque shores of Lake Baikal and be offered a boat ride, the person said.

He did not provide further details, saying he had given a written pledge not to disclose this information.

In an apparent nod to Kim's concerns about personal safety, the Kremlin imposed a virtual blanket ban on information about the plans and itinerary of the 69-year-old leader, now travelling across the Trans-Siberian railway aboard his special armoured train.

Kim crossed the border into Russia on Saturday.

The Kremlin said in a terse statement that the summit will be the highlight of the reclusive Kim's week-long tour of Russia's Far East and Siberia, his second visit to the giant neighbour since 2002.