Washington - North Korea's decision to withdraw from the six-nation negotations on its nuclear programme and reconstitute its atomic activities is a "step in the wrong direction," the White House said Tuesday. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs called on Pyongyang to live up to its agreement to abandon nuclear weapons after North Korea announced Tuesday it would no longer participate in the negotiations.

"North Korea's announced threat to withdraw from the six-party talks and restart its nuclear program is a serious step in the wrong direction," Gibbs said.

"North Korea will not find acceptance by the international community unless it verifiably abandons its pursuit of nuclear weapons," he added.

North Korea said it was withdrawing from the disarmament talks after the UN Security Council issued a statement Monday condemning Pyongyang's April 5 rocket launch.

North Korea said the launch was to place a communications satellite in space while the United States, Japan and South Korea viewed it as a front for testing ballistic missile technology.

North Korea agreed in September 2005 to eliminate its nuclear weapons programme in return for better diplomatic ties and humanitarian aid. That agreement came about through six nation talks involving China, Japan, Russia, the United States and two Koreas.

Pulling out of the talks threatens to unravel years of difficult negotiations that produced the agreement and its subsequent implementation. North Korea last summer dismantled its main nuclear facility at Yongbyon, but the process has since been held up over establishing a procedure for verifying North Korean cooperation in disclosing the extent of its nuclear work.(dpa)