As the year comes to a close it’s clear that 2018 was a year of paradigm shifts in Korea and beyond. Among its most notable aspects, this was the year Kim Jong Un, who in his role as North Korea’s Supreme Leader has been by and large been a homebody, made several trips abroad.

Kim’s demonstrable willingness to travel outside the confines of the DPRK has subsequently spawned invitations from other states traditionally friendly to the DPRK.

This past October, Mongolia’s President Khaltmaagiin Battulga invitedKim Jong Un to visit Ulaanbaatar. Russia, for its part, has been in a