The youngest daughter of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will marry a South Korean man whose father, a retired admiral, worked at the South Korean Embassy in Moscow as military attache in the late 1990s, a local newspaper reported Friday. 

Citing an anonymous source, the JoongAng Ilbo reported that Yoon Jong-gu, the man’s father, said his youngest son would marry Putin’s youngest daughter soon during a dinner with the Korean Ambassador to Japan Kwon Chul-hyeon in August.

According to the source, the Russian girl is Ekaterina Vladmirovna Putina, 23, the youngest of Putin’s two daughters and is currently studying in the U.S. with her 25-year-old Korean fianc. 

The couple visited the dinner venue at a resort in Japan, accompanied by two bodyguards, the source added.

They met in July 1997 at a dance party at an international school in Russia. Even after Yoon’s son, who has not been named, left Russia after his father’s term ended there, the couple continued their love. The girl also visited Seoul during the 2002 World Cup.

The former admiral said that Putin first opposed the couple’s marriage but consented to it after meeting his son, the source said. Putin’s daughter wants to live and work in Korea after their wedding, the source added.

In a phone interview with the local daily, Yoon, 64, said, “The couple will make an official announcement about their marriage. Please do not report their marriage now.”

Yoon is now working as director general of the international cooperation bureau at the Korean Veterans Association.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)