US agrees to lift sanctions as North Korea hands over nuclear dossier

North Korea has handed over a long-awaited dossier on its nuclear activities to Chinese government officials. The report, which is six months late, fulfills a key step in the country’s process of denuclearisation.

In return, the US has agreed to lift some trade sanctions against Pyongyang and take the country, once dubbed part of the “Axis of Evil” by President Bush, off its list of terrorist states.

North Korea is said by some to be on the brink of famine. The UN estimates the country is more than a million tonnes of grain short of what it needs to feed its people this year. Independent observers are in North Korea to assess the situation ahead of the first delivery of US food aid, due in the next few days.

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