CRI听力：NKorea to Resume Disablement of its Nuclear Facilities

North Korea has said it would resume disabling its main nuclear facility. The announcement came hours after the United States removed Pyongyang from a list of states that sponsor terrorism.

North Korea's Foreign Ministry also decided to again allow the US and International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect its Yongbyon nuclear complex to verify the disablement process.

South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Kim Sook, said his country welcomes the latest progress on the Korean Peninsula's nuclear issue. (Www.hxen.net)

"Our government appraises that these actions contribute to the opportunity of moving the six-party talks back on to the right track and ultimately leading to North Korea's nuclear renunciation, and we welcome this."

The diplomat also expressed his wishes for further developments in the negotiations.

"We are looking forward that the six-party talks' process will be driven forward once again in the future by this announcement. We expect that the six-party talks will be held sooner or later."

On Saturday, the Bush administration said it removed North Korea from its terrorism blacklist after the two countries reached a verification agreement.

American officials said the latest move resulted from a two-day trip to Pyongyang by Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator to the six-party nuclear talks, earlier this month.

The U.S. listing of North Korea as a "terrorism sponsor" has been a major factor in the deadlock over the Korean peninsula nuclear issue.

Under a 2007 pact, Pyongyang pledged to disable its nuclear program as a step toward its eventual dismantlement in exchange for diplomatic concessions and energy aid.

Pyongyang blew up its key cooling tower in June to show its commitment to the pact.

But late last month the North announced it would reactivate its Yongbyon nuclear facility, because the US had failed to fulfill its commitment to take the country off the list of state sponsors of terrorism.