August 2009 saw an abrupt “about-face” in North-South relations on the Korean peninsula. The month began with former president Bill Clinton’s historic meeting with Chairman Kim Jong-il and concluded with the agreement on reinstatement of inter-Korean family reunions. The typical saber-rattling and bellicose propaganda have been replaced by a “gentle” and more subdued North Korea, whose overtures, some say, may be pointing to a return to negotiations on its nuclear program.