Like many students in Japan, Kim Yang Sun cycles to school each morning. Unlike most, she then changes into a traditional Korean outfit and studies under portraits of former North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.

But fearing that the West wants to prosecute their leader, Kim Jong Un, for human rights abuses, North Korean officials are beginning to rely on soft words instead of hard power.

On Wednesday, North Korea said Mr. Kim had personally ordered Mr. Fowle’s release after considering requests from President Obama. 

The two Koreas briefly exchanged machine-gunfire across the border as speculation swirled about North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, who hasn’t been seen in public for weeks and missed another official gathering Friday.

North Korea sent its highest level delegation to South Korea on Saturday and the two sides agreed to reopen dialogue amid a flurry of diplomatic activity which has raised hopes for improved ties between the arch rivals.

BEIJING, Sept. 27 Xinhua comprehensive report , after a lapse of 15 years , DPRK Foreign Minister Lee Yong -soo attended the United Nations General Assembly , or the sound will be on North Korean human rights issues . Prior to this , the DPRK Foreign Ministry officials through the ” sports diplomacy” , cultural exchanges , ” political party diplomacy” , expect for North Korea to open a window onto the international stage . North Korea launched concentrated diplomatic offensive , how this session will sound, also caused apprehension of South Korea on the sidelines.

Given the troubled history between South and North Korea, it's difficult to imagine that the sides marched under the same flag at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. The unified marches, also held at the Sydney and Athens Games, fell in line with a reconciliatory mood on the peninsula as well as the idea that, in the words of the late Nelson Mandela, sport "has the power to change the world."