Senior Russian military officers are in North Korea for talks on boosting military ties, as an armored train carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong-IL rumbled through Russia's Far East toward a Siberian summit with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

The two leaders are to meet later this week near Lake Baikal, in Mr. Kim's first visit to Cold War ally Russia in nearly a decade. The meeting in Ulan-Ude is expected to focus largely on energy cooperation, nuclear issues and food aid to Pyongyang.

Russia's Itar-Tass news agency said a senior delegation of Russian military officials had arrived in Pyongyang for nearly a week of talks on expanding military cooperation. The report quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying the visit will focus on natural disaster relief and the possibility of joint maneuvers to rescue ships in distress.

The North Korean leader's Russian trip has been shrouded in official secrecy, in what analysts say is a Russian concession to the reclusive Mr. Kim's long-standing concerns about personal safety.

Energy cooperation is expected to be a major issue in the summit talks in Ulan-Ude. Pyongyang's official KCNA news agency said last week that Mr. Medvedev has requested North Korean cooperation on the construction of a gas pipeline from Russia, through North Korea to South Korea.

Such a pipeline would give South Korea huge savings on natural gas shipments from Russia which are to begin later in this decade. North Korea would be able to ease its shortage of hard currency by charging transit fees.

Sunday, Mr. Kim toured a hydroelectric plant and dam on the Bureya River in Russia's Amur province. Reports say Russia would like to sell energy from the plant to North and South Korea.

KCNA said Russia has also proposed three-party cooperation in other energy fields and on a rail line linking Seoul to Russia's Trans-Siberia Railway.