Russia & South Korea reach agreement on the North

Yesterday, President Medvedev met with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Italy.

They agreed that both their respective governments would back the full implementation of the UN sanctions against North Korea.

Taken in the context of Medvedev's desire for policy convergence with the US, this is encouraging indeed. It should be noted, however, that the two presidents have included China in their wish list of allies, and it is the emergence of a Sino-Russia axis that may prove the most significant political development in the next few years. Indeed, Russian policy holds that there will eventually be a return to a bi-polar world. The EU, dismissed by Russia as a temporary phenomenon, may well have to decide which pole it will gravitate towards - the US, or the east.