It would not be an overstatement to say that, at one point, it genuinely seemed like we were on the brink of nuclear warfare. While the rest of us watched on, Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un were busy exchanging school-yard insults through the media and threatening to blow up each other's respective countries.
However, now, in a bizarre twist to this never-ending tale, just hours after Kim Jong-un had accused America of trying to stir up conflict on the peninsula, North Korea has said that it is open to talks with the United States.
According to a statement from the South's presidency, the developments in relations between the two Koreas should go hand in hand with talks between North Korea and the United States. The visiting delegation at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang met with South Korean president Moon Jae-in at an undisclosed location.
However, while there may have been improvements in relations between the two Koreas, US State Department said that Pyongyang's nuclear development program needs to be resolved before they can enter positive discussions.
“We are in close contact with the Republic of Korea about our unified response to North Korea. As President Moon stated, 'the improvement of relations between North and South Korea cannot advance separately from resolving North Korea's nuclear program,'” a spokesman said.
Previously, the North Korean government issued a statement via state media in which they accused the United States of provoking confrontation through their sanctions.
Responding to the statement that North Korea would be open to discussions, American officials said: "We will see if Pyongyang's message today, that it is willing to hold talks, represents the first steps along the path to denuclearization."
“In the meantime, the United States and the world must continue to make clear that North Korea's nuclear and missile programs are a dead end,” it added.
The Winter Olympics, which were held South Korea, had given a boost to the relationship between the two Koreas, but the closing days of the games were rather overshadowed by the US announcing that it was imposing it largest package of sanctions against the North.
“Thanks to our supreme leadership's noble love for the nation and strong determination for peace, long-awaited inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation have been realised and the Olympics took place successfully by the inter-Korean collaboration,” the North's KCNA state news agency said, citing North Korea's ministry of foreign affairs.
“On the eve of closing of the Olympics, United States is running amok to bring another dark cloud of confrontation and war over the Korean peninsula by announcing enormous sanctions against the DPRK.”
So, it looks like it may not be the end of the world. Let's hope, that with North Korea potentially opening the door to conversation and positive talks, we won't all be getting blown up anytime soon. Although, given the temperamental nature of both the leaders involved, I won't be holding out much hope.