After tense U.S.-Russia relations under Biden, President Donald Trump has recently prioritized thawing diplomatic ties with Moscow, holding phone talks with Vladimir Putin on a possible end to the Ukraine war and even agreeing to cooperate on nonproliferation of “strategic weapons.”

This development quickly drove Korean media to speculate about Russia working with the U.S. on North Korean nonproliferation, including the possibility that Moscow could play a mediating role between Washington and Pyongyang.

But while the future direction of U.S.-Russia ties has major implications for the peninsula, NK Pro analysis