New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson says North Korea showed “a certain pragmatism” by not retaliating to South Korea’s live-fire artillery drills held Monday near the Yellow Sea border with North Korea.

The U.S. politician concluded a six-day visit to Pyongyang on Tuesday and is now in China. He told reporters at the airport upon his arrival in Beijing that the North Koreans are moving in the right direction.

He said the fact that the North didn't retaliate, that it agreed to monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and displayed its will to sell the fuel rods that could be used to manufacture nuclear weapons should be an opportunity for all sides to start talking.

Richardson said that now, the North must pursue deeds, not words.

According to Richardson, the North promised to allow IAEA inspectors to monitor its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon and to negotiate the sale of 12-thousand spent nuclear fuel rods. The North also reportedly agreed to set up a military commission consisting of representatives from the two Koreas and the U.S. and an inter-Korean military hotline to prevent conflicts in disputed areas in the Yellow Sea.

The governor says he also expressed concerns to the North regarding the sinking of South Korea’s “Cheonan” naval vessel and the North's shelling of a South Korean island last month.