On Monday evening North Korean leader Mr Kim Jong-il proudly showed off to the US Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright, an activity in which the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) excels - creating flashy images in a stadium by getting 100,000 performers to hold aloft pieces of cardboard.
As they watched from a reviewing stand in a Pyongyang arena, the boards formed a picture of the Taepodong missile, the longrange projectile which North Korea fired over Japan two years ago, causing a regional security crisis.
Mr Kim turned to his American visitor, and quipped, according to Ms Albright yesterday, "that this was the first satellite launch and it would be the last".
Thus, apparently, is a historic strategic policy change made known, DPRK style. Ending the North Korean long-range missile tests is, for the US, an essential part of a remarkable deal being cooked up with the reclusive Stalinist state which could lead to the normalisation of ties and the further lessening of Cold War tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Washington has apparently taken up an initiative of the Russian President, Mr Putin, that in exchange for North Korea freezing its missile programme, the West would help it launch its satellites. The US also wants North Korea to restrain severely the launch, production and export of its missiles to Pakistan, Iraq and Iran, and is reported to have offered in exchange aid worth some $300 million a year.
Ms Albright disclosed the remark which revealed North Korea's apparent agreement at a press conference yesterday after six hours of "serious and constructive" talks over two days with Mr Kim.
"During the October 23rd mass performance an image of a Taepodong missile launch appeared," she said. "He turned to me and quipped that this was the first satellite launch and it would be the last." She said she took this as a serious sign of a desire to move forward.
A senior US official was later quoted as saying that the DPRK leader had confirmed in the formal talks his pledge to end missile launches.
US and North Korean missile experts will meet next week to continue the discussions after what seems a remarkable breakthrough in relations frozen for half a century.
China yesterday said it was "welcoming and supportive" of Ms Albright's trip, which it hoped would lead ultimately to the normalisation of diplomatic relations between the US and North Korea.
At stake now is a new peace mechanism to replace the armistice which ended the Korean War in 1953. Last night Ms Albright hosted a dinner in Pyongyang for Mr Kim, and today will travel to Seoul to brief the South Korean President, Mr Kim Dae-jung, on her talks and the strong possibility of a visit by President Clinton to North Korea next month.
Despite reservations in South Korea that the US was moving too fast, President Kim said yesterday that he believed North and South could not move forward without the US and North Korea moving forward as well.
Joe Carroll adds from Washington: If North Korea effectively abandons its nuclear missile programme, the US will have to review its present plans for building a defence system against a possible nuclear attack from so-called rogue nations.
Congress ordered the President to deploy a nuclear missile defence following an intelligence report that North Korea would be able to fire a missile against the US by 2005.
However, Mr Clinton has postponed a deployment decision until there are further tests on the US anti-missile system. Two out of three tests have so far failed.