North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s lengthy trip to the Russian Far East and summit with Vladimir Putin made headlines around the world this month, providing a dramatic display of Moscow’s efforts to build a coalition against the West to gain the upper hand in Ukraine.

But while many observers focused on the prospect of DPRK arms sales to Russia, a number of interactions between Kim and his hosts that largely flew under the radar provide a revealing look into the careful political stagecraft that went into the North Korean leader’s nine-day visit.