it's led by hwang pyong-so, widely regarded as the number two in the pyongyang hierarchy. and he made the trip to attend the closing ceremony of the asian games. >> translation: even if it's not an opening ceremony, but a closing ceremony, our director of military political bureau came here. it was a sudden visit. i'd like to express our gratitude for the welcome. >> reporter: that tone is providing home for a breakthrough in relations between the two koreas. harsh word and rocket tests had ties between the neighbours. the visit is causing speculation about the health of leader kim jong un. he's been absent from public few for a month. his delegation is seen as powerful. this is as big as it gets without having kim jong un here. there was speculation that some had been purged. as always with north korea, some observers wonder what is behind the visits. we have seen the handshake before. the question is what next. >>> on to hong kong where protesters are still on the streets. frustration is mounding between them and the people living in the neighbourhoods they are occupying

a one-day trip, there was an 11-member delegation headed by a general who consolidated power, hwang pyong-so. it has the hallmarks. north korea doing a deal with the south. it means maybe they are trying to cut a deal because they realise the problems that they are in. kim jong un should have been on top of this. we haven't seen evidence. a real important indicator is friday, the anniversary of the founding of the korean workers party, there'll be a reviewing stand. if he's there, he maybe has rehabilitate. if he's not there, we know wrong. >> we'll know in a few days. going back to what you said about south korea and whether this is an opening, you quote a russian scholar who studied in north korea, an expert, saying the visit was part of an ongoing charm offensive by north korea to improve relations to the rest of the world. my reaction was when did that happen? after all the nuclear tests and a lot of threats to the united states, i haven't noticed the charm offensive. did i miss something? >> north korea had a rupture of relations with south korea. they have to build ties because they ne