North Korea's pledge to suspend uranium enrichment, as well as nuclear and long-range missile tests, has received a cautious international welcome.

朝鲜宣布停止铀浓缩计划、停止核弹和远程导弹实验，这一决定受到国际社会普遍欢迎。

A White House spokesman called it a "positive first step" towards denuclearising the Korean peninsula.

China's foreign ministry¹ also welcomed the move, while Japan said it could "be seen as progress".

The deal followed talks between US and North Korean diplomats² in Beijing last week.

The US has announced 240,000 tonnes of new food aid for Pyongyang in return for the freeze.

North Korea confirmed the suspension in a foreign ministry statement released in Pyongyang on Wednesday.

It said the move "aimed at building confidence for the improvement of relations" between the two countries, and said talks would continue.

The US State Department said Pyongyang had also agreed to allow UN inspectors³ to monitor its reactor⁴ in Yongbyon to verify compliance⁵ with（符合，遵守） the measures.

"These are concrete measures that we consider a positive first step toward complete and verifiable denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula in a peaceful manner," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

"But obviously they need to be followed up by actions. So, we will pursue this policy area with that approach in mind," he added.

China welcomed "the improvement" in US-North Korea ties. "China is willing to work with relevant parties to continue to push forward the six-party talks process," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a statement.

Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said the deal was an important step but warned "concrete action" was needed.

"Our goal remains⁶ unchanged: that all nuclear-related facilities will be stopped - that is the complete and verifiable denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula," he said.

South Korea said the deal reflected close co-operation between Washington and Seoul.

The food aid will be intended for children and pregnant women, US officials said. North Korea has suffered persistent⁷ food shortages since a famine in the 1990s, and relies on foreign aid to feed its people.

The US has not sent food aid to North Korea since 2009.