U.S., North Korea to Discuss Terrorism Designation

The U.S. and North Korea will discuss ending the communist country's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, as they build links after reaching an accord on dismantling North Korea's nuclear program.

A U.S.-North Korean working group will consider whether all the evidence and facts merit the North Koreans being de-listed, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said yesterday at a briefing in Washington. The U.S. placed North Korea on its list in January 1988.

``What we have committed to is to start that process, to take a look at it,'' McCormack said, according to a transcript. ``I can't tell you exactly how long that process will take.''

The U.S. and North Korea will begin steps to normalize their relations under the Feb. 13 agreement in Beijing where Kim Jong Il's regime pledged to end nuclear weapons development in return for energy assistance. North Korea and South Korea yesterday agreed to resume talks this month on trade and aid after South Korean food shipments stopped last July when North Korea test-fired seven missiles.

Designation as a state sponsor of terrorism results in U.S. government sanctions, including a ban on arms-related sales and exports and curbs on economic assistance, according to the State Department Web site.

``Getting on the state sponsor of terrorists list has certain legal and regulatory requirements,'' McCormack said. ``In our judgment, North Korea met those when we listed them. If there are more facts that we need or gaps in our information, I'm sure that we will be in touch with the North Koreans and get that information from them.''

Airliner Bombing

North Korea was added to the U.S. list after North Korean agents were implicated in the 1987 bombing of a South Korean passenger airliner over the Andaman Sea, which killed all 115 people on board. The country has been involved in the abduction of foreign citizens, acknowledging in 2002 to Japan that its agents kidnapped Japanese citizens between 1977 and 1983, according to the State Department's report.

The denuclearization accord signed by North Korea, the U.S. South Korea, Japan, China and Russia also calls for North Korea and Japan to start direct talks on normalizing relations.

The accord says North Korea will shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor within 60 days, at which time it will receive economic assistance the equivalent of 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil and a further 950,000 tons if the regime disables the plant.

Japan won't provide energy assistance until progress is made on the issue of the abduction of Japanese nationals, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said after the accord was reached. Abe was criticized by opposition lawmakers because the agreement fails to address the issue.

Temporary Suspension

North Korea's official Korea Central News Agency, in a Feb. 13 report, described the agreement as involving a ``temporary suspension of the operation of its nuclear facilities.''

The North Koreans ``agreed to shut down their reactor and seal it for the purpose of abandonment,'' Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator, said in Beijing after the agreement was announced. ``Any effort to restart the reactor would be a violation of the six-party joint statement. Sometimes the North Korean media is not as well informed as the North Korean delegation.''

North Korea is ready to implement the accord, Japan's Kyodo News reported, citing Kim Kye Gwan, the chief North Korean nuclear negotiator, as saying yesterday on his return to the capital, Pyongyang.

``The talks went well,'' the report cited Kim, North Korea's vice foreign minister, as telling diplomats at the airport. ``We are ready to implement the results of the meeting.''

Marshall Plan

South Korea's aid to North Korea will benefit the region in the same way that the U.S. Marshall Plan assisted Europe after World War II, President Roh Moo Hyun said yesterday during a visit to Rome, according to the Presidential Office's Web site.

``If we help revive North Korea's economy, we can accomplish more than that of the Marshall Plan,'' Roh said. ``We can converge the enormous north Asian market into a very effective one and that is why I think this is an investment.''

Once the nuclear issue is revolved, North Korea and South Korea will work to secure peace on the peninsula, he said.

``It is a difficult process, but we have leverage,'' Roh said. ``We'll do our best to make it happen.''

source:www.bloomberg.com