Sept 3 (Reuters) - North Korea said on Monday the United States had agreed to remove it from its list of countries that support terrorism, a move long sought by Pyongyang to better its status with the outside world.

Washington has yet to respond to the report by the North's official KCNA news agency.

Here are some facts about the list and its implications:

WHAT IS THE LIST?

In 1979, the United State prepared a list of countries it said were providing either direct or indirect support to terrorist groups.

WHAT IT IMPLIES?

Under the Trading With the Enemy Act, the designation on the terrorism list bars the country from receiving U.S. exports, controls sales of items with military and civilian uses, limits U.S. aid and requires Washington to vote against loans from international financial institutions.

Along with North Korea, the list includes Iran, Cuba, Syria and Sudan. Some of the reasons the United States gives for their inclusion include:

IRAN (Since Jan. 19, 1984):

- encourages militant groups including Hizbollah; increasingly assists militants in Iraq; provides Palestinian militants with funding, training and weapons.

- declines to bring to justice senior al Qaeda members it has held since 2003.

- is a particular concern because of its nuclear programme.

CUBA (Since March 1, 1982):

- actively opposes U.S.-led war on terrorism; does not try to track or block militants' assets; has taken no action against al Qaeda or other militant groups.

- grants U.S. fugitives safe haven; has not satisfied U.S. extradition requests for people it calls terrorists.

- maintains close ties with Iran and North Korea, and has provided safe haven to militants including members of Basque separatists ETA and Colombia's leftist FARC.

NORTH KOREA (Since Jan. 20, 1988):

- Pyongyang was put on the U.S. list based on the confession of a North Korean agent over the mid-air explosion of a South Korean passenger jet over the sea off Myanmar in 1987.

- has abducted several Japanese nationals and returned only some to their homeland. Questions about the fate of other abductees remain. There are credible reports of the abduction of other nationals.

SUDAN (Since Aug. 12, 1993):

- hosted al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the 1990s, which weighs heavily in assessment of Sudan.

- has caused concern with its handling of internal rebel movements, especially in western Sudan.

SYRIA (Since Dec. 29, 1979):

- provides political and material support to Hizbollah and Palestinian militant groups.

- has been implicated in the 2005 assassination of Lebanese ex-Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

Source: Reuters; U.S. State Dept. (www.state.gov.in)

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