(Reuters) - When U.S. diplomats filed into North Korea's grim embassy in Beijing last month they found an unlikely surprise: Starbucks.Their hosts, led by North Korean's chief nuclear negotiator Kim Kye-gwan, had ordered U.S.-style coffee for talks both sides hoped would lead to new negotiations on Pyongyang's nuclear program and to resumed U.S. food shipments to one of the most feared and secretive countries in the world.
There were more surprises to come.
Five days later, the United States and North Korea simultaneously unveiled a unique and potentially far-reaching agreement, dubbed the "Leap Day" deal because it was announced on February 29 - that chronological oddity that occurs only every fourth year.
North Korea promised a moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests, and to open itself to new international inspections.
Negotiators had also crafted a new standard for North Korean food aid - one that would give U.S. aid workers unprecedented access to the closed-off country and set new monitoring benchmarks to ensure that help reaches North Koreans suffering from malnutrition, and is not diverted into military hands. Read More
