Are there contradictions in North Korean policies? The North is sending out mixed signals.

On the one hand, it is continuing its diplomatic offensive – sending Foreign Minister Ri Su Young to the UN and a number of important countries, including Russia. It has also sent its most influential foreign policy figure (a Korean equivalent of Henry Kissinger), Kan Seuk Ju, to Europe. The bombshell visit of the ruling “troika” to South Korea crowned this policy of outreach.