North Korea cannot be taken off the list of state sponsors of terrorism until it has made a full declaration on its suspect nuclear activities, the White House said Wednesday. Asked if the US administration was about to remove Pyongyang from the list, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
"No" "Right now where we are is waiting on the North Koreans to provide a complete and accurate declaration of their nuclear activities." Removing the isolated Stalinist state from the US terror sponsors list would be premature "to say the least," she added. North Korea agreed in a 2007 landmark six-party treaty to disable its main atomic facilities, but it missed the December 31 deadline to give a full declaration of all its nuclear programs.
In response to the disablement and declaration, the negotiating partners - South Korea, the US, China, Japan and Russia - were to supply one million tons of fuel oil or equivalent energy aid. Earlier Wednesday, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper said North Korea was willing to become nuclear-free if the United States honoured its commitments in return.
The comments in the Choson Sinbo, published in Japan by a pro-Pyongyang organisation, were the latest in a series accusing Washington of failing to live up to its commitments under a six-nation disarmament pact.
"The DPRK (North Korea) has a firm resolution to denuclearize the Korean peninsula. The key is whether the US and other parties are implementing their duties," said the website of the paper, which normally reflects official thinking. "The DPRK will continue to fulfil what it is supposed to do, in accordance with the action-for-action principle, when the US carries out its duty."