WASHINGTON, Oct 11, 2008 (AFP) - The United States on Saturday struck North Korea from a terror blacklist after saying Pyongyang agreed to steps to verify its nuclear disarmament and pledged to resume disabling its atomic plants.

TOKYO, Oct 12, 2008 (AFP) - Japanese Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said a US decision to remove North Korea from a terrorism blacklist was 'extremely regrettable,' Japanese media reported Sunday.

'It's extremely regrettable, and I believe abductions amount to terrorist acts,' Nakagawa told Japanese reporters in Washington at the Group of Seven meeting of finance ministers.

SEOUL, Oct 12, 2008 (AFP) - South Korea on Sunday hailed the US removal of North Korea from a terrorist blacklist as key to putting six-party talks on disarming the communist state back on track.

SEOUL, Oct 12, 2008 (AFP) - South Korea said Sunday that a US decision to take North Korea off its terrorism blacklist put the communist state's nuclear disarmament back on track, but a Japanese minister called the move 'extremely regrettable.'

SEOUL, Oct 12, 2008 (AFP) - North Korea on Sunday welcomed the US decision to drop it from a terrorism blacklist and said it would resume disabling its nuclear plants.

'We welcome the US implementation of its duty to remove us from the list of states sponsoring terrorism,' a foreign ministry spokesman told the official Korean Central News Agency.

WASHINGTON, Oct 11, 2008 (AFP) - World powers and North Korea have agreed to steps to verify North Korea's disarmament that include the plutonium program but also any uranium and proliferation activities, a senior US official said.

WASHINGTON, Oct 11, 2008 (AFP) - The United States is striking North Korea from a terrorism blacklist, US officials said Saturday, as Washington worked furiously to salvage a historic nuclear disarmament deal.

WASHINGTON, Oct 11, 2008 (AFP) - The United States on Saturday removed North Korea from its terror blacklist after reaching an agreement on nuclear verification measures, a State Department spokesman said.

'The secretary of state has rescinded the designation of North Korea as a state terror sponsor,' said spokesman Sean McCormack.

WASHINGTON, Oct 11, 2008 (AFP) - The United States got 'everything it wanted' in talks on steps to verify North Korea's disarmament, a State Department spokesman said Saturday.

'Every element of verification that we sought is included in this package. It's an important point. Every single thing that we sought going in is part of this package,' said State Department Sean McCormack.

WASHINGTON, Oct 11, 2008 (AFP) - The United States got 'every single thing' it sought in a deal to verify North Korea's disarmament that includes uranium and plutonium work, a State Department spokesman said Saturday.

WASHINGTON, Oct 11, 2008 (AFP) - The United States removed North Korea from a terrorism blacklist, US officials said Saturday, as Washington said it got everything it wanted in a nuclear disarmament deal.

SEOUL, Oct 11, 2008 (AFP) - The United States announced Saturday it is removing North Korea from a list of state sponsors of terrorism, after reaching agreement on ways to verify its declared nuclear programme.

Here are key developments since the latest nuclear standoff began:

WASHINGTON, Oct 11, 2008 (AFP) - President George W. Bush on Saturday vowed support for Japan's position on the abduction issue, after Tokyo said North Korea should provide more information on the fate of Japanese civilians kidnapped decades ago.

PHILADELPHIA, Oct 11, 2008 (AFP) - White House hopeful Barack Obama on Saturday said the US government had taken an 'appropriate' step in taking North Korea off a terrorism blacklist, while rival John McCain struck a note of caution.

SEOUL, Oct 11, 2008 (AFP) - North Korean television on Saturday aired photographs of leader Kim Jong-Il inspecting a military unit, the South Korean Yonhap news agency said here.

Chosun Chung-Angola TV showed 10 still pictures of Kim inspecting a women's battery of the Korean People's Army, Yonhap said.

WASHINGTON, Oct 10, 2008 (AFP) - The United States acknowledged Friday it must bridge gaps with its partners over a plan to verify North Korea's nuclear disarmament before it strikes Pyongyang from a US terrorism blacklist.

WASHINGTON, Oct 11, 2008 (AFP) - The US government will announce Saturday it is removing North Korea from a terrorism blacklist following an agreement with Pyongyang on steps to verify its nuclear disarmament, a US official told AFP.

TOKYO, Oct 11, 2008 (AFP) - The United States will remove North Korea from a terrorism blacklist later Saturday, Japan's Kyodo News reported, quoting a senior US administration official.

Kyodo did not give any details nor name the US official in its report which was datelined from Washington.

SEOUL, Oct 11, 2008 (AFP) - North Korean television on Saturday showed photographs of Kim Jong-Il, the first time in almost two months the reportedly ailing leader has been pictured by the communist state's official media.

SEOUL, Oct 11, 2008 (AFP) - North Korean television on Saturday showed photographs of Kim Jong-Il, the first time in almost two months the reportedly ailing leader has been pictured by the communist state's official media.

WASHINGTON, Oct 10, 2008 (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke Friday to her partners on the North Korean nuclear talks but 'no decision has been taken yet' to remove Pyongyang from a terror blacklist, her spokesman said.

SEOUL, Oct 11, 2008 (AFP) - North Korea on Friday urged its impoverished people to wage an all-out struggle to rebuild the economy, but made no mention of any appearance by leader Kim Jong-Il on a major anniversary.

WASHINGTON, Oct 10, 2008 (AFP) - The United States acknowledged Friday it must bridge gaps with its partners over a plan to verify North Korea's nuclear disarmament before it strikes Pyongyang from a US terrorism blacklist.

SEOUL, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - South Korea has told civic groups to stop spreading cross-border propaganda in a gesture of reconciliation towards North Korea, officials said Wednesday.

The request was made Tuesday, the South's unification ministry said, five days after Pyongyang told Seoul to stop the spreading of propaganda leaflets.

SEOUL, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - North Korea has test-fired short-range missiles into the Yellow Sea, officials said Wednesday, amid continuing diplomatic efforts to persuade it to abide by a nuclear disarmament deal.

'The latest missile launch was seen as part of routine military exercises,' said a South Korean defence ministry official.

SEOUL, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - South Korea, in a gesture of reconciliation to North Korea, has urged defector groups to stop spreading cross-border propaganda but the defectors said Wednesday they would ignore the plea.

The unification ministry said the appeal was made Tuesday, five days after Pyongyang told Seoul to stop the leaflets or risk expulsion from a joint economic zone.

SEOUL, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - North Korea is working to develop a nuclear warhead for a long-range missile, South Korea's top military officer said Wednesday, a day after the communist state tested its short-range weaponry.

WASHINGTON, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice insisted Wednesday that North Korea meet proper standards for verifying its nuclear disarmament as she pursued efforts to break a deadlock in negotiations.

WASHINGTON, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - The US military is prepared for any contingency but has seen no unusual North Korean movements following reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il suffered a stroke, the top US commander in Korea said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - The US State Department on Wednesday advised North Korea against test-firing short-range weapons, amid reports, which officials in Washington were unable to confirm, that Pyongyang had launched test missiles into the Yellow Sea.

SEOUL, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - North Korea has fired short-range missiles into international waters in the Yellow Sea as part of a routine military exercise, a defence ministry official said Wednesday.

The missiles were fired on Tuesday, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding the type and number were unclear.

SEOUL, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - South Korea Tuesday played down expectations that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, who reportedly suffered a stroke in August, will appear at major anniversaries this week to prove he is well.

SEOUL, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - Both the United States and North Korea are showing flexibility in trying to settle a dispute which threatens a nuclear disarmament agreement, South Korea's foreign minister said Tuesday.

The comments by Yu Myung-Hwan raised hopes that a mission to Pyongyang last week by chief US negotiator Christopher Hill may have been fruitful.

WASHINGTON, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - China will continue to take part in multilateral talks on the Iranian and North Korean nuclear crises despite the country's objections to US plans to sell arms to Taiwan, a US state department official said on Tuesday.

SEOUL, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - North Korea has fired two short-range missiles into international waters in the Yellow Sea as part of a routine military drill, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said early Wednesday, quoting a defence source.