of russia, but has been courted by other major countries. president biden was there in september last year. commentators suggest president putin s visit to vietnam is designed to show the world that russia is not isolated from asia. he flew directly to hanoi from pyongyang, where he and kim jong un signed a pact to help each other in the case of aggression. the bbc s shaimaa khalil reports from south korea. vladimir putin s pyongyang trip was choreographed to a t, with some surreal, made for tv moments, like this one of him driving kim jong un on the streets of pyongyang. earlier, kim il sung square, at the heart of the north korean capital, was buzzing with crowds and colour, as the two globally isolated leaders revelled in each other s company and what mr kim described as a new level of alliance. translation: we highlyl appreciate your consistent and unwavering support for russian policy, including the ukrainian direction. i mean, ourfight against the hegemonic imperialist