North Korea on Wednesday agreed to temporarily suspend nuclear tests, long-range ballistic missile launches and other nuclear activities, including uranium enrichment.

The breakthrough, announced simultaneously by the United States and North Korean officials, followed talks in Beijing and came two months after the death of North Korea's supreme leader, Kim Jong Il.

In Washington, the White House welcomed the announcement, calling it a “positive first step,” but stressed that the United States is looking for North Korea to follow through with action.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that while there still are profound concerns about North Korea's behavior, the announcement reflects progress.

Clinton also said U.S. and North Korean nutrition assistance teams will meet in the immediate future to complete details of a plan for 240,000 metric tons of U.S. food assistance for Pyongyang. She said the deal calls for “intensive monitoring” to ensure the aid reaches the most needy.

The former U.S. special representative for North Korea Policy in the Obama administration, Stephen Bosworth, voiced similar sentiments in an interview with VOA.

“My hope is that the agreement will hold and lead to some next steps, such as the return of the IAEA inspectors to Yongbyon and North Korea and to resuming a new flow of food aid… and that would be followed by further efforts to reach an agreement on the relaunching of a deeper U.S. – North Korea dialogue and eventually the resumption of the six-party process.”

Another U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity said the steps North Korea has now agreed to open the door to serious negotiations and wider talks on ending its nuclear weapons program.

Meanwhile, Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow for Northeast Asia at a Washington-based research institution, , said while the steps North Korea has agreed to are a move in the right direction, the announcement is not a significant breakthrough.

“A cynical take on it would be that the U.S. is paying additional economic benefits simply for North Korea's agreement to affirm previous agreements that it has already signed its name to three times in the six-party talks.”