Red carpets and a military brass band greeted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as he arrived in Russia’s pacific port of Vladivostok on Wednesday, ahead of his first summit  with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Moscow hopes to use the highly choreographed and largely symbolic visit to burnish its role as a regional powerbroker, while providing Mr Kim with an opportunity to show he has other international allies after a breakdown in negotiations with the US.

Mr Putin has long sought a meeting with Mr Kim in an attempt to insert himself into talks over Pyongyang’s nuclear programme. But he found himself  sidelined over the past year as the North Korean dictator instead met Donald Trump, Chinese president Xi Jinping and South Korean leader Moon Jae-in.