US acts to remove DPRK from terror list

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-6-27  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

THE United States said yesterday it may remove the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism in August if the DPRK meets all its obligations under the six-party talks.

The US welcomed the DPRK's declaration of its nuclear programs, calling it "an important step in the multistep process laid out in the six-party talks."

"After a period of 45 calendar days and absent the enactment of a joint resolution blocking the proposed rescission, the Secretary of State may rescind North Korea's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism on August 11," the US State Department said in a statement.

The DPRK will not be removed from the terror list until a verification system is put in place and verification itself begins, the statement said.

US President George W. Bush said yesterday the US will lift key sanctions on the DPRK under the Trading with the Enemy Act and will notify Congress of his intent to remove the DPRK from the state sponsors of terrorism list.

Meanwhile, Bush warned that the DPRK must disclose and dismantle all its nuclear programs in a verifiable way, or face the consequences.

The US could impose new sanctions or re-impose past sanctions on the DPRK if it fails to meet its obligations, a senior US official said yesterday.

"To the extent applicable and to the extent we can do it legally, we would re-impose past sanctions," US national security adviser Stephen Hadley said at a briefing.

"We would also have the option to get additional sanctions but it again would not just be the United States, it would be all the countries of the six-party talks," he said.