North Korea says the lifting of sanctions is key to resuming the six-way nuclear talks and making progress.

The North's Tongil Shinbo weekly emphasized that Pyongyang's decision to rejoin the stalled talks was on the premise that it would discuss with the U.S. the lifting of sanctions at the six-way dialogue.

The paper said North Korea took physical measures to strengthen its deterrence capability, such as its nuclear test, following U.S. sanctions over counterfeiting charges.

It added that Washington had no other way but to listen to the North's reasonable claims.