Russian deputy foreign minister Igor Morgulov's visit to Pyongyang this week is bound once again to thrust Russia's role in Korean security into Washington's field of vision. This is especially true given that Morgulov's meeting comes on the heels of a recent spate of North Korean missile tests.

Issues related to Korean security first and foremost center around the DPRK's WMD and ballistic missile programs. Yet as Pyongyang and Moscow continue to grow closer, in the midst of the U.S.'s diplomatic offensive toward the North, the U.S. should not fail to consider the Russian Federation's position in another area crucial to the U.S.'s security interests in North Korea, namely human rights.