On May 31, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made his first visit to North Korea in almost a decade. Laying flowers at a memorial to the nation’s former leaders, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, Lavrov met with his North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong-ho, and also spoke to the country’s current ruler, Kim Jong-un. This was the Kremlin’s first official meeting with Kim, who is supposed to travel to Singapore in two weeks for “on-again, off-again” talks with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Valery Sharifulin / TASS / Scanpix / LETA