US 'to remove' North Korea from terror blacklist
Saturday, 11 Oct 2008 17:40
North Korea 'to be removed' from list of states sponsoring terrorism
North Korea is to be removed from a list of states sponsoring terrorism, according to US officials.
The move follows talks between the Bush administration and Pyongang which resulted in Kim Jong Il's government providing assurances over its nuclear activities, according to the Reuters news agency.
North Korea's presence on the list had been a major stumbling block in discussions of the state's nuclear disarmament, but president George Bush has now opted to take the
Asian country off its terror blacklist.
An unnamed official was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying: "We've agreed to a series of verification measures [on North Korea's nuclear programme], and flowing from that we can now remove North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terror."
However, a later report stressed that North Korea's removal from the list was only provisional and dependent on Kim Jong Il's administration complying with inspections of its nuclear capabilities.
Pictures of Mr Kim were released by Pyongang on Saturday, showing the North Korean leader in seemingly good health, after reports that he underwent brain surgery in September.