N Korea taken off US terror list

[velik_m]

N Korea taken off US terror list

Washington is to remove North Korea from its list of countries sponsoring terrorism, US officials have confirmed.

US State Department officials made the announcement after reaching an agreement with Pyongyang over nuclear verification measures.

"Every element of verification that we sought has been included in this agreement," an official said.

The US listing has been a major factor in the deadlock over North Korea's nuclear disarmament.

The State Department spokesman also said that North Korea would resume its disablement of nuclear facilities.

The move follows days of deliberations within the US administration after a visit to Pyongyang last week by US envoy Christopher Hill.

Analysts say the deal will be unpopular with some conservative Republicans.

North Korea began disabling its Yongbyon nuclear reactor in August, but more recently it has made moves to reassemble the plant after Washington refused to remove it from the terror sponsors' list.

In other provocative steps, it expelled UN inspectors and test-fired short-range missiles, heightening tensions with the US.

Correspondents say that Pyongyang wants to come off the US list in order to receive international aid and loans, and as a step towards its diplomatic rehabilitation.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/7665206.stm

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Interesting move. Why was N. Korea on it in the first place?

[TheProfessor]

Does this mean they're not evil anymore?

[Anti.Hero]

No, they just threatened S. Korea with war yesterday.

[Wild Cobra]

I guess that means Kim Jong-il is history.

wiki: Kim Jong-il (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il):


Successor

Kim's three sons and his son-in-law, along with O Kuk-ryol, an army general, have been noted as possible successors but the North Korean government has been wholly silent on this issue. South Korean media have suggested Kim is grooming his son Kim Jong-chul but Kim Yong Hyun, a political expert at the Institute for North Korean Studies at Seoul's Dongguk University, has said, "Even the North Korean establishment would not advocate a continuation of the family dynasty at this point." Kim's eldest son Kim Jong-nam was earlier believed to be the designated heir but he appears to have fallen out of favor after being arrested at Narita International Airport near Tokyo in 2001 while traveling on a forged passport.

[ChumpDumper]

What does succession have anything to do with this?

[Wild Cobra]

What does succession have anything to do with this?
The possible internal decision that Il is too ill to lead, and that his succesor will work with the world.

[ChumpDumper]

These negotiations have been going on for over a decade. Being taken off the terra list is just another step in those.

[Wild Cobra]

These negotiations have been going on for over a decade. Being taken off the terra list is just another step in those.
True, but what happens to Kim Jong-il I'm sure is a factor. Any idea of his current condition after his stroke? Will he ever recover enough to lead again?

N. Korean Kim Having Trouble Using Limbs (http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/read.php?idx=7245); The Seoul Times, Sunday, October 12, 2008

[ChumpDumper]

If he dies abroad, we'll hear about it. If he's in North Korea we won't hear anything they don't want us to hear. It's highly doubtful that anyone else there would break from Kim's policies while he is still alive and the US wouldn't immediately change their status if the regime seemed to be changing, so this removal from the terra list is a result of the negotiations with Kim's government.

[Nbadan]

Didn't Dubya just bomb a 'nuclear facility' in Syria that was being supposedly built by the North Koreans?