North Korea says it welcomes U.S. moves to lift sanctions.

The North’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday that it “positively assesses” and “welcomes” the U.S. measures, and also urged Washington completely withdraw its “hostile policy” toward Pyongyang.

The North’s statement came hours after the North blew up the cooling tower of its main nuclear reactor plant.

Washington announced Thursday it would remove Pyongyang from terrorism and sanctions blacklists. The move was the latest concession aimed at prodding the North to abandon its nuclear program.