"It seems North Korea has given an indication to the United States that it will not test-fire its (Taeopodong II) missile," a senior foreign ministry official told AFP.

He said that in return for the ballistic concession, the United States had given a general commitment to ease decades-old sanctions on the Stalinist regime.

"Washington has promised some benefits, including the easing of some sanctions, to North Korea," he said.

He declined to comment on whether the United States had already agreed to any specific moves, but said it was very unlikely that it had agreed to remove the North from its list of enemy states.

"I do not think Washington has given a final and resolute promise to remove North Korea from the list of terrorist states during the Berlin talks," he said.

The official said Washington would prbably unveil concrete measures after reporting the results of the six-day Berlin talks to Congress.

Some South Korean newspapers reported Monday that Washington had agreed to remove North Korea from its list of pariah states, a move which would open up long-sealed channels of international funding to the starving state. In other news, Irans defence ministry on Saturday formally denied US intelligence reports that Iran is developing intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of striking the United States.

"This report based its assessment of Iran's defensive capabilities on speculative data and mistaken suppositions," said ministry spokesman Kayvan Khosravi.

A US intelligence report published Thursday concluded that Iran and Iraq as well as North Korea could test intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of striking the United States by the end of the next decade.

"This study in no way conforms to reality and is only aimed at deceiving American public opinion," said Khosravi, adding that Iran's military policy is based on "defensive measures and constitutes no threat to countries which are not hostile to Iran."

"Iran could test an ICBM that could deliver a several hundred kilogram payload to many parts of the United States in the latter half of the next decade, using Russian technology and assistance," the US report suggested.

It added that most analysts believe Iran could test a North Korean Taepo Dong-1 missile or a three stage Taepo Dong-2, possibly with North Korean assistance, in the next few years.

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