Editor’s note: The following article is an opinion piece by Chris Monday, an expert on the Russian economy and associate professor at Dongseo University. Views expressed in opinion articles are exclusively the author’s own and do not represent those of NK News. 

This week marks one month since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un embarked on his first diplomatic trip abroad since the start of the pandemic on Sept. 10, boarding his private armored train for a summit with his counterpart Vladimir Putin in Russia.