Artyom Lukin

The message is, the Russo-Chinese 'strategic partnership' is now a force to be reckoned with militarily in East Asia.

As for Russia, the Putin-Kim summit will reaffirm Moscow's place as a major player on the Korean peninsula. This meeting is important for Russian international prestige.

Even if the summit fails and U.S.-North Korea tensions resurface, Russia is unlikely to support new rounds of sanctions on North Korea, if previously adopted U.N. sanctions continue to be in effect, Russia will abide by them, but it will probably find some legal ways and loopholes to make their enforcement as mild as possible.

China has always been pushing for more port infrastructure, but Russia was a bit reluctant until recently to build this kind of infrastructure, for fear of becoming too dependent on China, but now Russia has no choice.

Just recently Russia and China didn't have a single bridge across the Amur River, but now they have as many as two bridges... so the trend is clear.

The Russia-China initiative at UNSC is likely coordinated with Pyongyang as the proposal reflects North Korea's demands to be rewarded for the concessions it has already taken, pyongyang's recent threats of escalatory action are now backed by the Sino-Russian diplomatic offensive.