U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun arrived in Seoul on Sunday following the second consecutive DPRK rocket engine test in two weeks, to what can only be described as a “last chance saloon” for U.S.-North Korea talks.

With Friday night’s test plainly linked to the development of Pyongyang’s “strategic nuclear deterrent,” the North’s choice to issue two related statements on Saturday added a final measure of diplomatic pressure before Biegun’s arrival.

Ahead of Kim Jong Un’s December 31 deadline and a forthcoming but extraordinary Plenum – at