Like a rare and silent migratory bird, the North Korean foreign minister has arrived in Bali for his annual sojourn for the Asean Regional Forum on security.
Yet again there are hopes that somehow, against the odds, a breakthrough will emerge in the region's dealings with the recalcitrant hermit state. And, yet again, those hopes seem likely to be dashed, despite side meetings between South Korean and North Korean officials.
The major players of the region - China, the US, Japan and Russia - agree that the flawed six-party talks on ridding North Korea of its nuclear weapons need to be restarted in the wider interests of peace and stability.
Yet, with Pyongyang still to provide Seoul with any apologies or accounting for its fatal attacks last year on a South Korean naval vessel and an island, few insiders expect any resumption soon. The last thing anyone in Seoul wants is to start rewarding Pyongyang for its bad behaviour.
And reports yesterday that, despite United Nations sanctions, the tide of luxury goods flowing from China into North Korea is growing only highlights the futility that underpins current approaches to Pyongyang.
In recent months, South China Sea tensions have stolen headlines from the quagmire over policy on North Korea.