North-South rapprochement still a tenuous one

TUESDAY sees the, previously unanticipated, resumption of high-level bilateral talks between North and South Korea, the first such discussions since 2015, and the latest evidence of a surprise mini-rapprochement.

Following spiralling tensions in the peninsula last year over the North's nuclear weapons and missile programmes, the New Year has brought unexpected respite, with Pyongyang offering to send a delegation of athletes to the Winter Olympics hosted by the South, and the two nations re-opening a diplomatic hotline.

Potentially, the diplomatic mood music in the peninsula this year could therefore become very different from the end of last year. Yet, the warming is fragile, and a key question remains whether it will be significant and sustained in coming weeks in the face of continuing tensions between Pyongyang and Washington.