It was an unusual sight, and one spectators haven’t seen for eight years: North Korea on an Olympic podium.

Unusual for several reasons, too. The country’s silver medal in table tennis was sealed with the symbolism of a selfie among athletes from South Korea — a show of cross-border harmony amid rising tensions between the neighbouring countries.

And more broadly, the fact North Korea will emerge from the Paris Olympics with medals to show for itself shines a brighter light on the country’s often peculiar, sometimes on-and-off relationship with the Games.