A number of recent news items, superficially unrelated, indicate that a few small changes are occurring in North Korea. One can look at an individual change and not see much of great significance. In the aggregate, however, these small adjustments in the political and social fabric of North Korean life could be the sign of something bigger.

For example, a recent story about how an order, allegedly from Kim Jong Un himself, has made warrantless house searches illegal may seem unimportant to those living in less dictatorial circumstances.