The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Monday it would discuss reaching a peace treaty with relevant state parties in the framework of the six-party talks to replace the Armistice Agreement, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

The DPRK Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that it was necessary to pay primary attention to build confidence between the DPRK and the United States.

The statement said removing barriers such as sanctions against the DPRK might soon lead to the opening of the six-party talks.

"If confidence is to be built between the DPRK and the U.S., it is essential to conclude a peace treaty for terminating the state of war, a root cause of the hostile relations, to begin with," it said.

It said the conclusion of the peace treaty would also help promote the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The statement suggested that the Armistice Agreement be replaced by a peace treaty this year which "marks the lapse of 60 years since the outbreak of the Korean War."