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The U.S. has told North Korea that it will not strike it from the list of state sponsors of terrorism until it agrees on a verification protocol for its nuclear programs and stockpiles, it emerged on Thursday.
A reliable source in Washington said Wednesday the U.S. reaffirmed its position that it will not remove North Korea from the terrorism list until it agrees on a detailed verification procedure. The U.S. was expected to strike the North off the list on Aug. 11 but will hold off however long it takes for Pyongyang to agree on the protocol, the source added.
"The U.S. has made this point clear to North Korea with a view to pressuring it into agreeing on the verification protocol," the source said.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday urged North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun to agree to a verification protocol in a meeting of foreign ministers from countries in the six-party talks in Singapore.
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North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Ri Dong-il speaks to reporters at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore on Thursday, the last day of the 15th ASEAN Regional Forum. /Yonhap
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When he notified Congress of his intention to strike the North from the terrorism list on June 26, U.S. President George W. Bush stressed the need to establish such a protocol.
Many speculated that this meant the North would be removed from the terrorism list on Aug. 11, since the president is required to notify Congress of his intention to remove a specific country from the list 45 days in advance.
But others speculate that this will not happen unless North Korea agrees to a verification protocol in the next 15 days, either in bilateral talks with the U.S. or at the six-party talks.
Meanwhile, the U.S. draft document for verifying North Korea's nuclear declaration contains no timeline, the Washington Times reported Wednesday. This means the process ¡°could continue into the next administration,¡± the daily said.
It quoted U.S. chief nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill as saying verification ¡°will involve things like sampling. But in order to sample, you need to complete some actions, for example, of disablement." It would therefore have been hasty to include a time frame, he added.
In an editorial, the daily pointed out that North Korea agreed to "a complete declaration of all nuclear programs and disablement of all existing nuclear facilities." ¡°It has failed to meet this commitment,¡± the paper comments. ¡°At a minimum, the United States should not remove North Korea from the terrorism list until it does so and it agrees to permit short-notice inspections of its nuclear facilities at any time."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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