There are consequences beyond this particular case, according to Maite Hoyos, an immigration attorney in Miami.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

The COP President at Durban is a woman, Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane from South Africa and the Executive Secretary of the Convention is also a woman, Ms Christiana Figueres.

CNN: Why women are world's best climate change defense

The businessman from Maite says North Korea's threats have been the topic of conversations at recent family barbecues, but most people are still skeptical of what North Korea can do.

NPR: North Korea Threats Spark Buzz On Guam, Not Panic

He first received a briefing by Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, on the status of the negotiations, and then met with Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, President of the Conference of the Parties and South African Minister for International Relations and Cooperation.

UN: Secretary-General