N. Korea taken off US blacklist

Published: Saturday, 11 October 2008, 10:04PM

North Korea has been taken off the United States terrorism blacklist in a bid to salvage denuclearisation talks, the US State Department has announced.

The decision was made after North Korea agreed to a series of verification measures of its nuclear facilities, said department spokesman Sean McCormack.

North Korea would resume disablement of its nuclear facilities, he said.

The United States and North Korea have agreed that experts would have access to all declared nuclear sites and that the United Nations would play an important role in verifying Pyongyang's atomic activities, Mr McCormack said.

The two countries agreed last week on the verification measures, which were needed before North Korea could be removed from the list of countries that the United States believes sponsor terrorism.

"North Korea remains subject to numerous sanctions resulting from its 2006 nuclear test, its proliferation activities, its human rights violations and its status as a communist state," McCormack said.

He added: "The United States will continue to work toward the verifiable end of all North Korean nuclear programs and activities. We will not stop until this work is done."

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