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.