Jingle bells are welcoming US special envoy Stephen Bosworth, who is flying back home after a week-long Asian trip.

The 70-year-old has a good reason to celebrate. During his visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the country said it is willing to rejoin the Six-Party Talks, although the timetable is still up in the air.

To push Pyongyang back to the negotiating table, which it walked away from in April, Washington made at least one compromise. It agreed to resume discussions on a peace treaty, a deal that Pyongyang has long wished for. But that discussion has been shelved since 1999.