With Koirala no more, Asia has lost yet another grand old man of politics - the likes of him have always been rare.
South and North Korea have agreed to officially open railways and roads linking the two countries in late October, South Korea said on Sunday.\n\n
The Korean summit, laden with symbolism in everything from the choice of location to the mango mousse for dessert, could just be the first round in a continuing dialogue, says Dr Rajaram Panda.