Kim Yong-nam, a high-ranking official of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), will attend the opening ceremony of the World Cup in Russia on Thursday, as reported Saturday.

"Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK, will soon visit the Russian Federation to attend an opening ceremony of the 2018 FIFA World Cup," said the Korea Central News Agency in a short English dispatch.

The World Cup runs from June 14 to July 15 in 11 Russian cities, including Moscow, St. Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod.