The official reaction from Moscow to last week’s summit in Hanoi has been notably reserved, while in the background of the uncertain finish to last week’s convocation in Hanoi there have been several promising developments in the trajectory of the Kremlin’s Korea policy.

In her regular Friday briefing on March 1, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova appeared hesitant to comment in detail about the summit. Nevertheless, the Russian foreign ministry expressed a cautiously positive attitude regarding the summit, stating that the process toward reaching a mutually-agreeable outcome for all sides would require time.

The foreign ministry’s official statement also