U.S. LIFTS SANCTIONS AGAINST NORTH KOREA

The U.S. partially lifted economic sanctions against North Korea today. The move means that American telecommunications firms may do business there, and American citizens may engage in credit card transactions while traveling there. It also allows some imports from North Korea. The easing of restrictions is linked to an October accord under which Pyongyang agreed to dispose of its plutonium-producing reactors. U.S. officials will visit North Korea later this month to find a location for a diplomatic office -- a first since the founding of the country in 1948.