Tokyo -

Washington - The United States has agreed to remove North Korea from its terrorism blacklist in exchange for that country's agreement to allow international inspectors access to its nuclear programs, the US State Department announced Saturday.

The announcement, broadcast by CNN, is another step in US efforts to wean North Korea off its nuclear programmes. That has been one of the goals of six party negotiations between the two countries, plus Russia, China, South Korea and Japan.

Pyongyang (North Korea), Oct. 11 : North Korean leader Kim Jong Il inspected a women’s army unit on Saturday.

A local newspaper reported the leader''s inspection of the battery of the Korean People''s Army (KPA) Unit 821 on the front page, with a picture of Kim watching women soldiers'' training.

According to Xinhua, Kim urged soldiers to increase their combat capabilities and was satisfied with the fact that they had fulfilled their duties "in a responsible manner with utmost vigilance to cope with the evermore undisguised moves of the enemies for aggression."

Seoul - North Korea's state-run Central Television Saturday released pictures of leader Kim Jong Il inspecting a miliary unit in an attempt to refute speculation over his alleged illness, a South Korean media report said.

Kim, who is said to be recovering from a stroke or brain surgery, was shown in 10 photographs inspecting a women's army unit and watching them undergo weapons' training, the Yonhap news agency said. The images were the first of Kim shown in 58 days.

Seoul - North Korea and the United States are closer to a compromise in a last-ditch effort to salvage a nuclear disarmament deal, South Korean media said Friday.

Both sides were ready for concessions in the disputed question of verification and inspection procedures of Pyongyang's nuclear facilities, the Chosun Ilbo newspapers said, quoting a high-ranking South Korean government official.

Tokyo - Japan extended sanctions against North Korea Friday, banning port calls of North Korean-registered vessels and all imports of goods from the country for another six months, local media reported.

The sanctions, which were to expire on Monday, were extended due to the lack of progress in North Korea's denuclearization and the lack of resolution over its abductions of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s, Kyodo news agency reported.

Approved by the Cabinet on Friday morning, Japan will also continue to deny entry to all North Korean nationals, except for those who are residents of Japan, and prohibit the export of luxury goods to North Korea.