Putin has been diminished

Vladimir Putin’s journey to Pyongyang to meet fellow dictator Kim Jong-un is emblematic of the Russian leader’s isolation. Just 10 years ago, he was attending meetings of the G8 (now the G7) and rubbing shoulders with the leaders of the world’s richest nations. Now he has to go cap in hand to the pariah state of North Korea to seek both support for his war in Ukraine and the weapons to pursue it.

The old Soviet Union nurtured a partnership with North Korea, but modern Russia had kept this weird dynastic despotism at arm’s length until it became one of the few allies willing to send arms, along with Iran. President Putin has not visited Pyongyang in 24 years, but is now preparing to sign a new strategic partnership.