UNITED NATIONS: UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday hailed the agreement between Washington and Pyongyang on disabling North Korea''s plutonium-producing nuclear plants as another step toward a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.

"The secretary general welcomes the agreement between the United States and the Democratic People''s Republic of Korea on denuclearization verification measures," said a statement released by his press office.

It noted that the deal allowed for "the resumption of the six-party process and related activities" and described it as "another step towards a verifiable non-nuclear Korean Peninsula."

The UN secretary general urged "all the participants of the talks to redouble their efforts to meet their respective obligations and to complete the ''disablement phase'' as soon as possible."

The United States announced Saturday that it had taken North Korea off its list of state sponsors of terrorism, saying an agreement had been reached on steps to verify Pyongyang''s nuclear disarmament.

The move prompted North Korea on Sunday to announce that it would resume disabling its nuclear plants as part of the ongoing six-party talks that also include China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.

Pyongyang also pledged to readmit UN nuclear inspectors.