August 25

Former President Bill Clinton’s visit to Pyongyang earlier this month to win the release of two U.S. journalists has perhaps set in motion an opportunity for significant improvement in U.S. relations with North Korea. Similarly, after the passing of former South Korean president Kim Dae Jung last week, a high-level North Korean delegation came to the South to offer its condolences and met with President Lee Myung Bak. Continual improvement of the North’s relations with both the U.S. and South Korea are the minimum conditions to bring eventual peace and stability on the Korean peninsula. Read this update by Time magazine’s Bill Powell.

For more on what may be behind North Korea’s actions in recent months, read this excellent analysis by the Asia Foundation’s Scott Snyder.