After a pause of 25 years, both Russia – in a state of semi-Cold War with the West – and North Korea – a long-time foe of the West, now at odds with China – have turned to one another again. At least verbally, negotiations on economic cooperation between Russia and North Korea have seemingly reached the same level as after the remarkable Kim Il Sung visit to the USSR in 1984. The previous upsurge bore some fruit: new “compensation,” procession-on-commission projects (when Russia supplied equipment and raw materials, getting the ready-made goods as compensation), re-orientation of North Korean exports