And why was he in NK?..............
Reread the article. It doesn't give a specific date for his trip to NK. It does make you wonder why he went there. I did a search for Samjiyon Grand Monument. Found this:
Samjiyon Grand Monument This impressive monument is standing on the shore of Samji lake with Mount Paekdu as background. It is the second biggest monument to Kim Il Song. Samjiyon Grand Monument was unveiled in May Juche 68 (1979) to commemorate President Kim II Sung's revolutionary activity during the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle."
There was a link that took me to this tourism page: