North Korea's nuclear moratorium welcomed with caution

North Korea has agreed to implement a moratorium on long-range missile launches, nuclear tests and nuclear activities at Yongbyon, including uranium enrichment activities.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has also agreed to the return of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to verify and monitor the moratorium on uranium enrichment activities at Yongbyon and confirm the disablement of the 5-MW reactor and associated facilities.

The country's pledge to suspend uranium enrichment, as well as nuclear and long-range missile tests, has received a cautious international welcome.

A White House spokesman called it a "positive first step" towards denuclearising the Korean peninsula.

China's foreign ministry also welcomed the move, while Japan said it could "be seen as progress". Neighbouring South Korea said the deal reflected close co-operation between Washington and Seoul.

The deal followed talks between US and North Korean diplomats in Beijing last week.

The US has announced 240,000 tonnes of new food aid for Pyongyang in return for the freeze. The US has not sent food aid to North Korea since 2009.

The aid will be intended for children and pregnant women, US officials said. North Korea has suffered persistent food shortages since a famine in the 1990s, and relies on foreign aid to feed its people.

The announcement comes two months after Kim Jong-un came to power following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il.

In 2005 North Korea agreed to give up its nuclear ambitions in return for aid and political concessions, as part of a six-nation dialogue process involving the two Koreas, the US, China, Russia and Japan.
But progress on the deal was stop-start, and talks became deadlocked in 2009.

Contact between the US and North Korea aimed at restarting the talks began in July 2011.

Last week's meeting between US and North Korean officials in Beijing was the third round of talks aimed at exploring how to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table.

US officials have said they expect "tough negotiations" with the North on the exact order in which the two countries' commitments are carried out.

Analysts also remain concerned over the possible existence of uranium enrichment facilities other than Yongbyon that have not yet been disclosed.