North Korea will immediately suspend nuclear and missile tests and scrap its nuclear test site and instead pursue economic growth and peace, the North's state media says, ahead of planned summits with South Korea and the United States.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his country no longer needed to conduct nuclear tests or intercontinental ballistic missile tests because it had completed its goal of developing nuclear weapons, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
North Korea said that to create an "international environment favourable" for its economy, it would "facilitate close contact and active dialogue" with neighbouring countries and the international community.
It was the first time Kim directly addressed his position on North Korea's nuclear weapons programmes ahead of planned summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in next week and with US President Donald Trump in late May or early June.
Trump welcomed the statement and said he looked forward to a summit with Kim.
"North Korea has agreed to suspend all Nuclear Tests and close up a major test site. This is very good news for North Korea and the World - big progress! Look forward to our Summit," Trump said on Twitter.
"Progress being made for all!" he said in a later tweet.
South Korea said the North's decision signified "meaningful" progress toward denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and would create favourable conditions for successful meetings with it and the United States.
China, North Korea's sole major ally which has nevertheless been frustrated by its defiant development of weapons, welcomed the announcement saying it would ease tension and promote denuclearisation.
"The Chinese side believes that North Korea's decision will help ameliorate the situation on the peninsula," a foreign ministry spokesman, Lu Kang, said in a statement.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also welcomed the North Korean statement but said it must lead to action.
"What's important is that this leads to complete, verifiable denuclearisation. I want to emphasise this," Abe told reporters.
The United States, Japan and South Korea have historically been the main targets of North Korea's anger.
"We're all looking for evidence that Kim is really serious about negotiations, and announcements like this certainly suggest he is, and that he is trying to make clear to the world that he is," said David Wright, co-director of the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
North Korea has said its nuclear and missile programs are necessary deterrents against US hostility. It conducted numerous missile tests with the aim of being able to hit the United States with a nuclear bomb.
The tests and escalating rhetoric between Trump and Kim raised fears of war until, in a New Year's speech, the North Korean leader called for reduced military tensions.
