A North Korean delegation’s attendance at the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow this week has raised hopes for diplomatic contact on the sidelines of the event, with South Korean officials citing the possibility of talks on forestry cooperation.

Such cooperation on climate change issues presents a unique opportunity for the two Koreas to build trust, according to the ROK’s former climate ambassador. 

“Cooperating to respond to global warming together: It will help both Koreas; it’s a nontraditional security issue that all of us on the Korean Peninsula share,” South Korea’s former Ambassador for Climate Change Yoo Yeon-chul, who