North Korea would fit Winston Churchill's description of a 'riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma'. It has aroused international speculation by announcing the appointment of an acting premier, with no explanation as to why the incumbent, Kang Song-san, had been removed. Then, to confuse matters further, it announced that it would attend a briefing in New York next month on proposed peace talks with South Korea.
Those talks, which would include China and the United States, would involve treating South Korea as an equal partner for the first time. But they could still be postponed, as Pyongyang angles for further advantages. Such brinkmanship - over its nuclear programme as well as the four-way talks - has already won the North increased diplomatic recognition, food aid and investment. Yet the fact that it is considering talks at all suggests that the faction favouring greater openness to the outside world may be in the ascendant.
This makes Mr Kang's exit more puzzling. He was considered to be in the openness faction. So, too, was Hwang Jang-yop, the top-level defector now ensconced in the South Korean embassy in Beijing.
Initial speculation that Mr Kang might have been purged because of his association with Mr Hwang's faction may be correct. Such a link would damage him irretrievably. But it sits ill with the decision to attend the briefing. It is possible that Mr Kang, not seen in public for months, has genuinely retired.
With so few clues, the world can only keep guessing. But then, that is precisely what Pyongyang wants.