The Obama administration has suspended food aid to North Korea over a satellite launch planned for next month. Testifying before a House panel, State Department official Peter Lavoy said North Korea had violated a pledge to refrain from missile launches under a deal reached with the United States earlier this year.

Peter Lavoy: “It’s been very important to us to delink humanitarian assistance, and including nutritional assistance and other kinds of activities such as operational remains recovery operations, from politics and from North Korea’s provocative behavior. That’s been our intent all along. However, when we recently reached this deal, this did prohibit North Korean missile launches.”