Word: pyongyang
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...limits on Russian influence were made clear in July 2000 when Kim Jong-il pulled a fast one on Russia's then-rookie President Vladimir Putin. Back then, Kim told Putin - who visited Pyongyang en route to his debut G8 summit in Okinawa - that North Korea would scrap its missile programs if other countries agreed to blast its satellites into orbit for the purposes of "peaceful space exploration." Putin tried to play Kim's statement as a trump card in his case against Washington's plans to develop a national missile defense system. But, the following month, the North Korean...
...when, despite its efforts to cultivate the Stalinist regime of Kim Jong-il, North Korea test-fired missiles toward waters inside Russia's economic zone. And Moscow is certainly more concerned about North Korea than it is with Iran's nuclear program - there's no payoff for Russia in Pyongyang's nuclear doings, and it has already caused plenty of trouble...
...Whatever its outlook, the fact remains that there isn't much Russia can do about North Korea, for the simple reason that it lacks leverage over Pyongyang. On the diplomatic front, China is calling the shots; Russia's priority is simply to avoid being sidelined altogether from this key north Asian diplomatic initiative...
...avoid being the butt of another such friendly joke, Russia has to be cagey about Pyongyang's constant requests for support in return for promises of good behavior that never get delivered...
...North Korea: What Pyongyang Wants...