It's Perfectly Safe - See?

Just like other Fellows that will be going on the trip, many colleagues' eyes widened when I said Korea.  They were aware of the rockets and nuclear bomb tests, and the increasing drumbeats of, if not war, then at least heightened tensions on the peninsula.  But yesterday good news broke out, instead of war!
The two Koreas have agreed to talks on several issues, including reopening the factories at Kaesong, inside North Korea.  All of the (formerly) increasingly angry and defiant bluster from Kim Jong-un was just that - talk.  Most of it seemed designed for internal consumption - See?  I can stand up to evil America! - to consolidate the new leader's shaky grip on power.
Kaesong is a complex of factories where 123 South Korean companies employ 53,000 North Korean workers.  Their wages are paid directly to the DPRK government, and are its main source of foreign currency.  When the new leader came to power, and North Korea ratcheted up the tension between the 2 countries, the complex was shut down by DPRK in April.  Now that the government needs money, and apparently Mr. Kim has consolidated his power, there will be talks to reopen the factories.
Where will these talks be held?  Pan Mun Jom, of course!

Pyongyang unexpectedly offered Thursday to discuss the possible re-opening of the Kaesong industrial complex, a jointly run factory north of the border that was shuttered in April amid heightened tensions. It also proposed discussing the resumption of cross-border tours to the North's Mount Kumgang resort. South Korea halted visits there after the 2008 shooting death of a South Korean tourist by the North's troops. (VOA)

So don't worry, South Korea is a safe place to be.  And it just got better.