AP Photo

South Korea on Tuesday recovered a fishing boat and its seven-man crew from North Korea after agreeing to an exchange that analysts see as auguring well for inter-Korean reconciliation – though not for an end to the North’s nuclear program. North Korea released the boat on “humanitarian grounds” after seizing it on Aug. 8 within what it claimed was its “exclusive economic zone” off the Korean east coast. The deal for its return appears to have been masterminded by China.