Despite recent setbacks, there are increasing signs that South Korean President Kim Dae-jung's 'sunshine policy' may eventually bring a genuine thaw in relations between Seoul and Pyongyang.
But the 'unconditional' release of the world's longest-serving political detainee, 71-year-old Woo Yong-gak, and 16 other prisoners from the North, does not guarantee the men a return to their homeland. Instead, Mr Kim is asking the North to exchange them for some of the 234 South Korean prisoners of war still being held there.
Talk of a package deal between the two aimed at easing the Cold War may be premature, given the unpredictable nature of the secretive Pyongyang regime. But there is no doubt Seoul is doing everything it can to lessen the tension on the peninsula, and there are small signs the North may be prepared to respond.
The United States is studying the plan, which proposes lifting US sanctions if Pyongyang can clear up suspicions over its suspected underground nuclear site. That was already under consideration in August when the North fired a missile over Japan, setting back what little progress had been made.
Since then, a North Korean official at the United Nations has said it would be 'a matter of course' for the country to push ahead with the test-firing of more missiles, but behind the rhetoric there are hopes of a new realism in Pyongyang's offer of talks with its neighbour.
Next month, another meeting will take place between the US and North Korea, which may lead the way to an agreement for US officials to inspect the site. In return, Washington would offer about one million tonnes of additional food aid to the famine-stricken state as well as lifting the sanctions.