Ms. Kim bowed, smiled and extended her hand. She said she knew that many people were interested in her skaters, Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik. Perhaps they would say a few words on Friday, after the competition.

Later, I handed a business card to Ri Chol-un, an official in the North Korean figure skating association. He, too, shook hands and said that perhaps a meeting with reporters would come after the skating.

These were the briefest of contacts. But at least a connection was made. (That is no small improvement. At the 1999 Women’s World Cup of soccer, held in the United States, the North Koreans once gave a news conference without some key participants: athletes and coaches.)

Later on Wednesday, Ms. Kim and Mr. Ri gave a smile of thanks when I motioned for them to enter a door to the skating arena as I was walking out the same door with my photographer, Jun Michael Park.

“Contrary to our popular belief, they seemed to be more in touch with the outer world,” Jun said. As a native of South Korea who lives in Seoul, he was surprised to find his preconceptions challenged.