For two weeks a pair of North Korean (DPRK) Musudan missiles have stood poised to blast skyward.
No more.
Unnamed U.S. officials told Reuters and BBC the missiles are now on standby and according to a second source have been moved to a "nonoperational" location.
Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters the move is part of a larger blossoming of DPRK good sense. "What we have seen recently," he said, 'is a provocation pause."
Had the Musudans tested successfully, they would have lifted regional tensions to a new level. They have a 2,000-mile range, giving them reach to strike deep into the South.
No doubt the North realized the card it was playing with the pair of them ready to rock at a moments notice. Perhaps that's why they rolled back from launch status today before South Korean President Park Guen-hye meets with Barack Obama at the White House.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
As Daniel Russel, the senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council told reporters at a press conference: "It's premature to make a judgment about whether the North Koreans' provocation cycle is going up, down or zigzagging. The decision to launch or not launch missiles, to conduct a provocation or to stand down or defer it, is a decision that rests with the North Koreans."
Even a minor pause though, a chance to get some air, is a welcome sign from the erratic regime.
North Korea's projected missile range is outlined below:
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