Vladmir Putin’s first visit to North Korea in nearly a quarter of a century has been intensely scrutinized around the world. Russia knew the West was watching and the optics were not subtle.

Putin has been left out of many global gatherings of late, and risks arrest in much of the world thanks to a warrant from the International Criminal Court over his invasion of Ukraine.

But on Wednesday, the increasingly isolated Russian president was met with a rapturous welcome in Pyongyang. Children waved Russian flags as Putin’s giant picture adorned one side of Kim Il Sung square, while footage broadcast on Russian state media showed posters of the Kremlin leader lining the streets. All of it was a signal to the world that not only is Putin is not isolated, his patronage is still prized in some parts of the globe.

And here, unlike in China, no one could accuse him of being the junior partner.