Could human rights be improving in North Korea, a country long viewed as ranking among the worst of the worst when it comes to human rights abuses?

From the unprecedented nature of North Korean diplomatic engagement of the issue at the UN in recent days, it certainly appears that Pyongyang is more concerned about its human rights reputation than some observers had initially thought.

Indeed, recent weeks have seen international debate about the issue reaching an arguably unparalleled level, stimulating increasingly regular responses and even sustained diplomatic engagement from Pyongyang’s UN representatives.

While such a development would have been unthinkable