The United States and North Korea announced a breakthrough agreement earlier this week, with North Korea agreeing to suspend nuclear weapons testing and halt the enrichment of uranium in return for more than 200,000 metric tons of food aid. This food aid is crucial to the famine-stricken nation that has been subject to heavy sanctions, mostly due to its unbending commitment to a nuclear program.

The announcement is the first true sign of how North Korea's young, new leader Kim Jong-un, who took office last December following the unexpected death of his father Kim Jong-il, will approach international negotiations. While the negotiations began before his father's death, the announcement of an agreement highlights Kim's willingness to engage in negotiations to secure aid that helps solidify support at home.

Looking for your first paid step into the world of peace and security organizations? The Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship is now accepting applications for the spring 2012 semester. 

Spring fellows will begin between January 15 and April 1, 2012 and work for six to nine months.  Candidates must have a bachelor's degree by the time the fellowship begins; those with graduate degrees may also apply.  All U.S. citizens, as well as non-U.S. citizens living in the U.S. who have an appropriate work permit, are eligible to apply; foreign nationals living outside the U.S. are not.  The deadline for receipt of all materials has been extended to October 10, 2011 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time/21:00 UTC.

Last week, I attended a hearing by the House Foreign Affairs committee (HFAC) entitled “Time to Pause the Reset?: Defending U.S. Interests in the Face of Russian Aggression.”  The hearing title alone makes it pretty obvious how many HFAC members feel about the state of human rights, or lack thereof, in present-day Russia and how successful they feel President Obama’s “reset” policy with Russia has been.  But as I listened to the panel of witnesses, two very different stories of the reset emerged, which speak to a broader debate in U.S. foreign policy circles: is engagement is a helpful tool for reaching out to potential allies, or just another word for appeasement?

With the new year beginning, this is the time when Citizens for Global Solutions would normally prepare our Congressional Report Card to rate members of Congress on global issue.  The CGS Report Card analyzes voting records on issues ranging from genocide prevention to nuclear nonproliferation to funding for the international affairs budget.

But this year, we’ve come to the sad conclusion that there isn’t going to be a Report Card.  Why not?  Because Congress didn’t do enough on record last year to warrant one.