Bush welcomes North Korea nuclear pact

President Bush steps out from Air Force One upon his arrival in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to speak about the budget, October 3, 2007.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Wednesday welcomed the agreement under which North Korea would shut down its nuclear facilities by the end of the year, the White House said.

"President Bush welcomes today's announcement, which outlines a roadmap for a declaration of the DPRK's nuclear programs and disablement of its core nuclear facilities by the end of the year," said Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the White House National Security Council.

The deal was hammered out over the weekend in talks among China, the two Koreas, Japan, Russia and the United States.

If approved by all six parties and carried out by North Korea, the agreement would mark a step toward the U.S. goal of getting North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons programs.

Implementation of the agreement would end North Korea's production of plutonium, "a major step towards the goal of achieving the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Johndroe said.