US, North Korea, Reach Deal to Salvage Nuclear Accord  | Voice of America - English
The United States has reached an agreement with North Korea to resume implementation of the six-party accord to end that country's nuclear weapons program.
Theagreement, the product of weeks of high-level diplomacy, ends a disputeover verification that threatened to scuttle the deal under whichPyongyang is to scrap its nuclear program for aid and diplomaticbenefits. Bush administration officials say that as a result ofthe talks, including a Pyongyang visit by chief U.S. delegateChristopher Hill a week ago, North Korea has agreed to a series ofmeasures that represent "significant cooperation" in verifying thedeclaration of its nuclear program made in June. StateDepartment spokesman Sean McCormack says the deal means Pyongyang isbeing removed from the U.S. terrorism blacklist, and North Korea inturn will reverse steps it has taken recently toward restarting itsdisabled Yongbyon reactor complex. "The secretary of state thismorning rescinded the designation of the DPRK as a state sponsor ofterrorism, and that was effective with her signature. North Korea hasstated it will resume disablement of its nuclear facilities. Thisdemonstrates that the six-party principle of action-for-action isworking," he said. North Korea had accused the United States ofreneging on a promise to remove it from the terrorism list when it madeits declaration June 26. The United States said delisting was alwaysdependent on Pyongyang providing an acceptable verification plan. Administrationofficials who briefed reporters said the agreed verification plan  - tobe adopted by all six parties to the negotiations at a Beijing meetingin a few weeks - includes all terms, among them visits to undeclaredNorth Korean nuclear sites, that the United States sought from thebeginning. Critics of the Bush administration, among them formerU.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, have accused theState Department of softening verification demands to try to keep thenuclear deal afloat and claim a foreign policy triumph. There were similar comments Friday from Republican Presidential candidate John McCain. McCormacksaid the deal achieved "every single element" of the administrationverification agenda, which he said was driven not by domestic politicalconsiderations but U.S. national interests. "The secretaryand the president wouldn't take these kinds of decisions if they didn'tthink that these decisions would help us - the United States -ultimately get to the goal of de-nuclearizing the Korean peninsula.Again, without compromising on principle," he said. CandidateMcCain and others have also suggested that removing North Korea fromthe terrorism list undercuts Japan, which has been pressing Pyongyangto account for a number of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea inthe 1970s and 80s. McCormack said the United States"wholeheartedly" supports Japan's position on the abduction issue andwill never forget the suffering of the Japanese victims and theirfamilies. He noted that even after terrorism-related sanctionsagainst North Korea are lifted, it remains subject to numeroussanctions related to its 2006 nuclear weapons test, proliferationactivity, and human rights record. The White House saidPresident Bush made the same points in a telephone call to JapanesePrime Minister Taro Aso Saturday morning. Democraticpresidential candidate Barak Obama, in a written statement, called theagreement a modest step forward. He said the decision to remove NorthKorea from the terrorism list is an appropriate response, as long asthere is a clear understanding that if Pyongyang fails to followthrough on its obligations there will be "immediate consequences."