Both Kiev and Washington have been met with a new provocation related to North Korea's role in supporting Russia during the over four-year long Ukraine war, at a moment Russia continues to claim sovereignty over Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
Ukraine and its Western backers have vehemently rejected Russia's hold on Ukrainian territory, and efforts to annex and politically normalize the occupation. But now, for the first time a Russian-installed official in Kherson is hosting North Korean diplomats in an 'official' capacity.
"A Russian-installed official in occupied southern Ukraine has held talks with North Korea's ambassador in Moscow, discussing potential cooperation in agriculture and other sectors, according to statements and media reports," writes The Moscow Times.
It highlights the deepened political and defense ties between Pyongyang and the Kremlin amid the Ukraine war, which the Kim Jong Un government sees as a war of NATO imperialist aggression:
Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-appointed head of the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine’s Kherson region, met North Korean Ambassador Sin Hong Chol at the North Korean Embassy in Moscow, South Korea’s Korea JoongAng Daily reported.
Saldo later published photographs of the meeting on social media, saying the sides explored possible collaboration in agriculture and humanitarian initiatives, as well as culture, sports and education.
But there's huge symbolism in the meeting, also in seeking to publish news of it far and wide. Russia has long demanded international political recognition of its militarily-held territories in Ukraine. This recognition is expected to start with its closest allies - but for now has stopped there.
Previously, it became well-known that North Korea sent at least 10,000 of its troops to help Russia in Ukraine. The CIA and Western countries expressed deep alarm over this.
International reports based on South Korean intelligence estimates earlier this year said that around 2,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed while fighting alongside Russia so far.
Now it seems the Kremlin is ready to increasingly play host to North Korean officials and greet them with open arms, working on bilateral deals and partnering in programs in agriculture and public programs.