"It will also contribute to creating a very positive environment for the success of the upcoming South-North summit and North-United States summit," a statement from President Moon Jae-in's office said.

• Why has Kim halted tests now?
• North Korea crisis in 300 words
• North Korea's nuclear programme explained
• Did sanctions push N Korea into US talks?

An important step

By Laura Bicker, BBC News, Seoul

The declaration came in six dramatic bullet points on North Korea's state run news agency, and it is a significant statement.

Mr Kim says it is not necessary to conduct any more missile tests because nuclear weaponisation has been achieved. This echoes his previous statement during a New Year address that the state is satisfied it is a nuclear power.

After six nuclear tests North Korea may feel it does not need to upgrade its existing designs.

This is not denuclearisation as demanded by the international community. Although North Korea has said it will abolish its atomic test site, it is not promising to get rid of its weapons.

Pyongyang has also broken these kind of pledges before.

But this is still an important step ahead of the summits with President Moon and a potential meeting with Mr Trump.

North Korea has repeatedly defied international sanctions over its weapons programme.

In November, it said it had successfully tested a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach the whole of the continental United States.

The test drew swift international condemnation. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said Pyongyang had shown "complete disregard for the united view of the international community".

The latest announcement from Pyongyang comes during a thawing of relations between North and South Korea.

A telephone hotline has been set up between Mr Kim and Mr Moon ahead of the first inter-Korean summit in over a decade.

"It was as if we were talking to a neighbour right next door," a South Korean official told local media after a successful test call that lasted 4 minutes 17 seconds.