The International Atomic Energy Agency said North Korean officials had informed the regulatory group that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has ceased nuclear disablement efforts, The Washington Post (NYSE:WPO) reported.

"Also, since it is preparing to restart the facilities at Yongbyon, the DPRK has informed the IAEA that our monitoring activities would no longer be appropriate," an IAEA statement said.

North Korean officials said the stoppage of its nuclear disablement efforts is a result of the United States not removing Pyongyang from a U.S. State Department list of terror suspects.

U.S. President George Bush has maintained the stance that North Korea would be removed from the list once the country conceded to verification efforts regarding its nuclear disablement, the Post said.