Putting an end to several months of speculation, the Kremlin has announced that it is not expecting either Kim Jong Un or Moon Jae-in to attend this year’s Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok.

Yury Ushakov, an aide to Russian president Vladimir Putin, announced that the upcoming Kim-Moon summit (the date for which has not yet been officially confirmed) will coincide with the EEF, and that Russia must therefore assume that neither Moon Jae-in nor Kim Jong Un will be present.

Prior to the announcement, plans had been in the works for Russia to host delegations from China, Japan, North