A pro-North Korean newspaper has hailed the agreement reached in last week's six-party nuclear talks, calling the deal a landmark toward realizing a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and peace in the region.

The Japan-based Choson Sinbo noted on Friday that the "initial steps" to implement the September 2005 joint statement stipulated that parties concerned must take specified actions within a certain period of time.

The paper called for working group discussions between Washington and Pyongyang to normalize bilateral ties. It also added that the U.S. initiation of the process to remove Pyongyang from its list of state terrorism sponsors and lift its ban on trading with the North indicate Washington's will to end hostility and seek peaceful coexistence.