United States President George W. Bush said in a statement issued from the White House Rose Garden that it will lift the sanctions against North Korea after Pyongyang fulfilled its part of the agreement and dismantled its nuclear weapons program.

Pledging “action for action”, Bush also said that it will remove North Korea from the list of countries blacklisted by Washington due to their terrorist activity.

Pyongyang’s declaration of halting its nuclear weapons program was handed over to Chinese officials in Beijing Thursday along with documents about its plutonium core and waste activities. The move will be followed by the destruction of a cooling tower at the country’s main nuclear facility, said Bush. The government said that it would televise the demolition of the cooling tower at Yongbyon.

"Today is a positive day and it's a positive step forward….They said they are going to destroy parts of their plant in Pyongyang. That's a very positive step," said Bush.

President Bush underlined the fact that the key factor which led to this negotiation success was the multilateral diplomacy. He thanked China, South Korea, Russia and Japan for their role in the process.

However, Bush emphasized the fact that this was just the first step and the U.S. will trust North Korea on this issue only if the Asians fulfill their promises.

“I'm pleased with the progress ... there are no illusions ... this is the first step," Bush added.

Nevertheless, the United States will erase trade sanctions under the Trading With the Enemy Act and also notify Congress that in 45 days it intends to take North Korea off the State Department list of nations that sponsor terrorism.

If Pyongyang will continue to make the right decisions it might repair its diplomatic relationships with the international community, said Bush, but he also warned that if North Korea doesn’t fulfill its promises and does not respond to additional requirements, "there will be further consequences."