As South Koreans prepare to go to the polls on May 9, many feel that Seoul is becoming increasingly sidelined in multilateral discussions over the question of North Korea’s security provocations.

As South Korea increasingly feels that it must pursue a course in North Korea policy that is more independent of the United States, Russia also seeks a greater role on the Korean Peninsula. 

China and the United States remain the largest external economic and security actors on the Korean Peninsula, a wholesale post-election foreign policy shift toward Russia in Seoul is unlikely, but just as Russia’s relationship with North