The United States was reluctant yesterday to confirm a report by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea that Washington has agreed to remove it from a list of terrorism-sponsoring states and lift economic sanctions against it.

Speaking to reporters, State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said under the Feb 13 agreement, the United States would begin the process of removing or looking at removing the DPRK from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

There has been discussions about the removal of the DPRK from the US terror list in working groups established under the framework of the six-party talks designed to solve nuclear issues on the Korean peninsula, he said.

But the spokesman noted that "how this will be done and any timing under which it will be done is something that is yet to be determined."

It "would obviously have to be part of the discussion that the working groups would have in their report to the envoys and ultimately part of any discussion about an agreement that the envoys would reach for the overall next phase of nuclear disarmament."

Pyongyang said Monday that the United States has agreed to remove it from a list of terrorism-sponsoring states and lift economic sanctions against it.

The DPRK made the announcement after it agreed to declare and disable its nuclear weapons programs by the end of 2007, in a two-day meeting with US officials in Geneva, Switzerland.

The DPRK has been demanding removal from the terror sponsors list, which is considered a key element to change the hostile relationship between Pyongyang and Washington.