Demonstrating its traditional solidarity with Beijing over the Korean security crisis, Moscow has backed Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s plea for loosening economic restrictions against Pyongyang, made last week during a ministerial-level meeting at the UN.

That Moscow should support such measures should come as no surprise, given that Russian deputy foreign minister Igor Morgulov declared only weeks prior that the time had come for the UN Security Council to consider easing sanctions against the DPRK.

Morgulov’s comments come only months after he affirmedthat while Russia did have an obligation to comply with UN punitive economic measures, it had