[Marxism] US to take N. Korea off terror list, as Kim regime reports on nuclear program

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

June 27, 2008
U.S. to Take North Korea Off Terror List 
By NORIMITSU ONISHI and EDWARD WONG
TOKYO - North Korea submitted a long-delayed declaration of its nuclear
program on Thursday, as the Bush administration said it would remove the
country it once described as part of the "axis of evil" from the State
Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism.

The declaration was believed to provide a partial, though important, view of
North Korea's nuclear capability, and marked a significant step forward in a
multi-national effort to end the country's drive to build nuclear weapons.

China, which has hosted the six-nation talks on the North's nuclear program,
said Thursday afternoon that the North would abide by Thursday's deadline to
submit its declaration. But an hour later, South Korea, another participant,
said the North had already handed the declaration to China.

Whatever the source of the confusion, the White House announced shortly
afterward that it would remove North Korea from the terrorism list and thus
make it eligible for aid and assistance, a goal long sought by the
cash-starved country.

American officials expected that the declaration, which had been due at the
end of last year, would provide details about North Korea's nuclear
facilities and programs, including the amount of plutonium produced at its
nuclear reactor in Yongbyon. 

"I do think it's important to note that if we can verifiably determine the
amount of plutonium that has been made, we then have an upper hand in
understanding what may have happened in terms of weaponisation," Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice said after arriving in Kyoto, Japan, on Thursday
for a Group of Eight meeting.

Ms. Rice added that the declaration was "a natural step on the way to
dealing verifiably with the devices or weapons themselves."

Partly to deflect criticism from hard-line critics in Washington that the
current deal was too soft on North Korea, American officials have emphasized
the importance of the information on plutonium. The North is believed to
have produced enough weapons-grade plutonium at its reactor in Yongbyon to
make as many as half a dozen bombs.

But, significantly, the North's declaration was not expected to reveal
details on three critical points: the nuclear bombs the North has already
produced; its alleged attempts to produce nuclear arms by secretly enriching
uranium, which triggered the ongoing crisis in 2002; and accusations that
the North helped Syria build a nuclear plant.

Some of the missing details, particularly on the North's existing nuclear
bombs, are expected to be revealed at the next stage of the step-by-step
agreement when Pyongyang is bound to dismantle and abandon its weapons. 

"This declaration completes this stage of the talks, as far as
plutonium-related activities are involved," said Yoon Duk-min, a senior
analyst at the Institute for Foreign Affairs and National Security in Seoul.
"But as far as negotiating on the other issues, that will have to be handled
by the next administration in Washington. There's realistically not enough
time left for the Bush administration."

"And North Korea, which got what it wanted by being removed from the list of
state sponsors of terrorism, is probably waiting for the next
administration," Mr. Yoon said.

The North was scheduled to follow up on Friday by blowing up a cooling tower
at its Yongbyon reactor, about 60 miles north of Pyongyang.

Edward Wong contributed reporting from Beijing and Helene Cooper contributed
reporting from Washington.




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