Beijing has been conducting high-level talks in order to convince North Korea’s supreme leader – Kim Jong-un – to give up his nuclear arsenal. It is fair to say that China holds considerable sway over Pyongyang because the hermit nation has very few economic and diplomatic allies. But do the communist nations have that much time for each other? “Leaders in Beijing see North Korea as a nuisance,” says Isabel Hilton, editor of bilingual news website China Dialogue. “They are happy for Kim Jong-un to annoy the US but they are also aware that regime collapse would cause them huge domestic problems.” Indeed, it appears that neither country is particularly happy with the current diplomatic arrangement but – for now at least – they need each other.

The Architecture and Design Exchange (AD EX) opened this weekend in downtown Dallas. Though it sounds like a place for architects and designers, AD EX is trying to achieve the very opposite. The centre wants to resonate with anyone who is interested in how the city functions and bridge the gap between the public’s understanding of architecture and the esoteric discourse of a close-knit group of experts. It also wants to encourage an exchange of ideas on the broader meaning of architecture, from walkability to historic preservations. In this vein, one of the opening exhibitions, Building Toys and Toy Buildings: Architecture Through a Child’s Eyes, showcases hundreds of years of buildable toys.