Russia vetoes UN North Korea resolution.

[Beet]

Kim could just grant Russia basing rights in North Korea just as the US has for South Korea. It would decrease the chance of a US strike and give his regime a powerful protector, while being yet another geopolitical coup for Putin.

[Beet]

The crazy thing is, North Korea is genuinely unpopular with Chinese civil society but hard liners in the government still have a lot of sway. There is some evidence the edifice has started to crack to where dissent is now allowed, but the government's position resists pressuring North Korea too hard. They still see a regime collapse as worse case.