Official public reactions to the summit between Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in this past April appear to have been overwhelmingly positive. At present, it appears that diplomacy will continue to be the way forward for the parties most interested in the outcome of the Korea crisis. The official statement following the summit posited that four-way negotiations between China, the DPRK, the ROK and the U.S. could potentially ensue.

Moscow's conspicuous absence from this group is no doubt a blow to Russia's interests. Vladimir Putin has famously made restoration of Russia's great power status a key policy goal from the very outset of his term, and having leverage, specifically, in Korea is a key factor in Russia's ability to become a veritable Asian power. Russia cannot be a great power, much less an Asian power, without an economically developed Far Eastern region integrated with the wider Asia-Pacific.