The North Korean situation may not have been as severe as we may have believed on seeing a scary Kim Jong-un in action in a war room with maps and pictures of loaded missiles.
While the world should be thankful for small mercies towards staving off big problems, there is always something brewing behind the scenes that can bring more than a furrow to the brows of the peace-loving majority.
The Cold War may long be over but the big powers are constantly grappling with grave issues like, for instance, on the high seas, which is where the action is when it comes to finding the precious minerals that are vital to many modern industries like global communications and manufacturing of stealth aircraft for surveillance, besides fossil fuel and gas.
Feeling somewhat left behind in this race for resources, the United States is waking up to the riches of the Arctic with secretary of state John Kerry thinking aloud about deepening engagement in the Arctic amidst pleas from US legislators to name an ambassador to the icy Arctic.
Mr Kerry is right in airing the fears that China and Russia have a head start on the undersea riches even as the ice begins to melt with the onset of the northern summer.
China has already begun monopolising the rare earth resources of the world, which offer minerals for highly specialised and sophisticated functions in communications technology and rocket science. Also, China is way ahead in planning to use thorium as fuel for future generation nuclear power plants with 140 scientists already spearheading the project to try and leave behind the archaic 1950s uranium-fuelled technology. It appears the US is waking up at last to give China a run for its money in the super-technology race.