North Korea has informed a United Nations aviation agency it will not conduct unannounced missile tests or further intercontinental ballistic missile launches because its nuclear arms program is now complete and it no longer needs to do such testing.

According to a statement released Friday, the pledge was made in meetings between North Korean officials and representatives of the U.N.'s International Civil Aviation Organization who were in Pyongyang for talks this week.

The pledge could open the way for airlines that had been avoiding North Korean airspace to take faster, more direct routes that require less fuel.