North Korea has agreed to return to six-party talks on dismantling its atomic weapons just weeks after staging its first nuclear test.
Envoys from North Korea, the United States and China met in Beijing and agreed to resume the talks in the near future.
US President George W Bush welcomed Pyongyang's decision but insisted he would be sending teams to the region to ensure the UN Security Council resolution on sanctions is enforced.
Mr Bush said: 'Obviously we've still got a lot of work to do.'
'We'll be sending teams to the region to work with our partners to make sure that the current United Nations Security Council resolution is enforced, but also to make sure the talks are effective.'
After the breakthrough meeting, US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said that he expected 'rapid progress' from the next talks, possibly in November or December, but acknowledged that fully settling the nuclear standoff was likely to be painstaking.
He said: 'We are a long way from our goal still. I have not broken out the cigars and champagne quite yet.'
The other countries involved in the talks are South Korea, China, Japan and Russia. A fifth round of talks in Beijing broke off last November without progress and North Korea later protested over a US crackdown on its international finances.
The UN Security Council voted to impose financial and arms sanctions on Pyongyang after North Korea carried out its nuclear test on 9 October.
