The U.S. Defense Department has removed a sanction it placed on North Korea regarding the purchase of materials.

According to reports released by Capitol Hill Wednesday, the Pentagon notified Congress that it had removed the North from its Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement.

The regulation prohibits the Pentagon from entering into a contract with a firm that is owned or controlled by the government of a country that has been identified by the State Department as a supporter for acts of international terrorism.

As a result, the Defense Department can now purchase materials with firms associated with or owned by the North.

Observers say the recent move is mostly symbolic, given the minute possibility of the Pentagon buying goods from a North Korean firm.