Decisions to engage the outside world will not necessarily translate into a more open society internally in either country. Both societies are controlled at the top, leaving outsiders little leverage to effect change. There are no parliaments and no newspapers. These are closed societies and change internally will come very slowly. What both developments show is that we continue to live in an unpredictable world.
Greater openness can also provide an opening for the gospel in very closed countries.
Only time will tell. Inc. All rights reserved.