North and South Korea’s swift agreement to conduct talks on Tuesday, January 9 crystallized on Friday after a year of some of the highest tensions the peninsula has ever seen. The meeting was unexpectedly proposed by Kim Jong Un in his New Year speech, where he suggested discussing the DPRK’s participation in the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February.

On the very next day, Kim’s proposal was endorsed by the Blue House, which itself suggested hosting the meeting in the Peace House, located on the South Korean side of Panmunjom. On January 5, the suggestion was accepted