That was a long time ago before Russia and China split. North Korea is in beijing’s backyard and they control North Korea. Yes, Putin would like to return Russia to its former glory but there are a lot of obstacles to that. There’s a lot of former Soviet republics they can latch onto now, but right now China is too powerful then for them to do anything with. They are going to have their hands full trying to prevent China from taking territory in their East. They have no way to stop it right
Well...as of last week,
“Russia offers to mediate between US and North Korea”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/north-korea-crisis-russia-mediation-united-states-un-conflict-a8129356.html
“The US State Department and White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Moscow’s offer.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who made a similar offer on Monday, told US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a phone call on Tuesday that “Washington’s aggressive rhetoric” and beefing up of its military presence in the region had heightened tensions and was unacceptable, Russia’s foreign ministry said.
It said Lavrov underscored the need for “the fastest move to the negotiating process from the language of sanctions.”