From Russia with drones: Kim Jong Un heads home

The North Korean leader ended his week-long trip amid fears in the West of an arms deal

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was heading home by train on Sunday, Russian news agencies reported, after a weeklong visit to Russia that included talks with President Vladimir Putin on closer military and other cooperation.

A video published by Russia's staterun RIA news agency on Sunday showed Kim walking along a red carpet to his train carriage in the Russian Far Eastern city of Artyom, and waving goodbye to the sounds of a military band.

Artyom is about 254 km (159 miles) from Khasan station on Russia's border with North Korea.

The trip by the North Korean leader, who seldom leaves his country, marks "a fresh heyday of friendship and solidarity and cooperation is being opened up in the history of the development of the relations between the DPRK and Russia," North Korean state news agency KCNA said, using the initials for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The US and its allies worry about warming military ties between the two neighbours as Russia presses its invasion of Ukraine and North Korea, a reclusive communist state, proceeds with missile and nuclear development.

South Korea and the US say military cooperation between North Korea and Russia would violate UN sanctions against Pyongyang and that the allies would ensure there was a price to pay.