The U.S. and North Korea announced Wednesday that Pyongyang had agreed to halt its nuclear and missile programs in exchange for American shipments of food aid.
Some observers called the deal a diplomatic breakthrough, whereas others, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, called it a “modest first step in the right direction.”
In any event, the deal hinges on the North’s need for humanitarian aid to address a food crisis whose origins “lie in 60 years of economic mismanagement by the government,” said Marcus Noland, deputy director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics.