U.S.: N. Korea Still On Terror List

Top Diplomat Throws Water On North Korean Claim Of Removal From List, Dropped Sanctions

(CBS/AP)  A senior U.S. diplomat said Tuesday that North Korea remains on a list of states that sponsor terrorism, dismissing North Korean claims that Washington has decided to remove the designation.

"No, they haven't been taken off the terrorism list," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told Japanese reporters as he arrived in Sydney, Australia, for a meeting of Pacific Rim nations. A State Department press officer separately confirmed the remarks.

Hill's comments were the first U.S. denial since North Korea's Foreign Ministry, in a statement carried Monday by the country's official news agency, said that Washington decided to scrap the terror designation and, with it, related economic sanctions.

The statement said the change came during a weekend meeting between Hill and his counterpart in Geneva.

Under a deal reached in February after years of tortuous negotiations, North Korea agreed to relinquish its nuclear programs, including one that has produced bomb material. In return, Washington agreed to open talks on normalizing relations with the North - its enemy since the Korean War - and to explore removing the terrorism designation.

Hill suggested that North Korea needs to go further in dismantling its nuclear programs before the U.S. will take it off the terrorism list.

"Getting off the list will depend on further de-nuclearization," Hill told reporters later Tuesday after a meeting with Japan's nuclear envoy, who was also in Sydney for a meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

Hill declined to specify what North Korea must do, but said the issue has been discussed with North Korean officials. "They know what these steps are," Hill said.

After a slow start, the parties to the February agreement - the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia - have picked up speed in implementing its terms. North Korea shut down its main nuclear reactor in July.

After last weekend's Geneva meeting, Hill told reporters that North Korean envoy Kim Kye Gwan had agreed to disclose the country's nuclear programs and disable them by the end of this year.

Kim separately suggested that the North was willing to declare and dismantle the facilities, but it did not mention the year-end deadline.

North Korea has faced various economic sanctions since the 1950-53 Korean War. Washington put it on the terrorism list for its alleged involvement in the 1987 bombing of a South Korean airliner that killed 115 people.

The designation effectively blocks North Korea from receiving low-interest loans from the World Bank and other international lending agencies.

The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush believes the North cheated on an earlier nuclear deal, supposedly starting up a separate program to enrich uranium while freezing a plutonium-based program.

Under the February arrangement, Washington has tried to get North Korea to make major concessions on its nuclear programs before the U.S. and other parties make theirs.

[sgtrds]

They actually pushed me farther left than I''''ve ever been before once how I saw how bad the worst of the neocons can be.

Posted by Rafterman1 at 10:55 AM : Sep 04, 2007

They are good at that. They lie so much and so obviously that it drives thinking people away from them and their cause. I''m not sure if they do it because they''re so stupid themselves or if they''re playing to the Bush base, the incredibly stupid people who''ll believe their lies. Everytime I read a post from one of those clowns I have to chuckle, because I have to try to decide if they''re such ignorant morons to say what they do or if they think everyone else is as stupid as they are and will believe them.

[realpatriot1]

pwrslm,

Were you Tokyo Rose in a previous life? Billy Boy was providing food to NK because they were in compliance you toad!

It''s really pathetic for you to talk about honor and truth and reality when you are totally divorced from all 3. Insults are not an adequate substitute for accurate facts.

Regarding the CIA tracking WMD traffcing and NK giving nukes to everybody, gain you don''t know your head from your ***.

NK got its nuclear technology to move from uranium enrichment to actually producing a bomb from the same place that Abinijhad did, Pakastani scientist AQ Khan. This happened under GWBs watch and it ocurred after Scooter-boy and Company outed Brewster & Jennings. This destroyed our capability to even know what Iran is doiing with the bombs that we now want to locate and destroy.

Face it, Bush has turned out to be the greatest threat to American security ever and the best operator for those who would destroy America and our allies.

[pwrslm]

SgtRDS,

It''''s funny how someone who arrogantly claims to be the one who knows the truth can''''t even get his facts straight or answer a direct question to defend his pathetic excuse for an argument.
Posted by realpatriot1 at 10:01 AM : Sep 04, 2007

whats really funny is that two pinheads without honor can always agree on the same things, you two have something in common with billy bj clinton, did you know?

while reality goes down right before you eyes, your totally oblivious of its existence

the example is that n/k relocated its nuclear research facilities while it sucked up free food and free energy from billy boy and the US TaxPayer, all the while, our intelligence agencies were TELLING BILLY THAT ITS HAPPENING...

billy had no reason to believe that n/k was scre-wing us royally and providing nuclear tech to every radical nation out there, the intel agencies world wide only wrote it down

guess billy boy cant read so well, eh? we know he had no clue, just like you!!

[walt1944-2009]

On Monday the North Koreans said they were taken off the "terrrror list". Today, the politician they talked to says they weren''t. Considering the Emperor Bush''s court''s difficulty in telling the truth about anything, as much as I dislike the North Koreans, it sounds like they got "Snowed" (as in Tony). That should teach the North Koreans to trust anything a Republican administration tells them, ESPECIALLY THIS ONE!!

SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!

[rafterman1]

===It''''s on film! Who was that comedian they radiated and gave cancer....Bill Hicks!===

You know what else was on film? Claimns that the ATF used "fire tanks" to start the buildings on fire and even showed a flame coming from the gun barrel showing it start a building on fire. You know what wasn''t on film? The careful editing of that film showing tanks "starting" the fire - except that if you watch the full film, without the editing, it shows the tank gun pulling back from the building, with a burning piece of debris hanging on the gun. That was the "fire" coming form the gun barrel. It only looked like the tank started the fire when it didn''t. Careful editing can make any point you want about any topic.

The moral of this story? Don''t believe everything you see. As far as that coemdian, Hicks died of pancreatic cancer. He was not "radiated".

[drummer94]

I said it when the "announcement" came about N.K. dismantling their declared sites and they did''nt say they did and didn''t say didn''t have undeclared sites. The few shrub supporters we''re all over it as a Bush "victory". Ha! I said hold back the back-slappin and the atta-boys till we see. Well......................................

[zootallures2]

No children were "gunned down" by ATF.

Posted by Rafterman1 at 11:06 AM : Sep 04, 2007

It''s on film! Who was that comedian they radiated and gave cancer....Bill Hicks!

[zootallures2]

The government of israel is evil


''S''ion Mi''s''rahi? You are nutbags! Like a backwards swastika, heh? LOOOOOOOONES!

[rafterman1]

===Actually, I''''m pro Bush. If Gore or Kerry won, we''''d never been able to expose what a corrupt, phony dump it really is. Clinton gunned down and burn children in Waco. Blew up the building in Oklahoma. The FBI even admitted to suplying the 93 WTC bomb... but you morons loved billy bob clinton.===

So you ARE American. Curious that you said "you" since I wasn''t born during the time you cite and therefore I thought you meant ALL Americans as a whole and not me personally.

But for the record, it was the child molester Koresh who made the decision to kill everybody inside the Waco compound with the fires. No children were "gunned down" by ATF. And if you are suggesting the government blew up 1993 WTC and Oklahoma City, then you are pretty "Waco" yourself (as in Whacko).

[zootallures2]

We are winning and you arsekenazis are going home to momma israel in a card board box. I see it on the streets... written on the wall... I have a dream... and liberty and justice for all.... LOL!

[name_verify]

The government of North Korea is evil.

[rafterman1]

===You murdered and enslaved the people in Guatamala for canned fruit! Libbies Libbies Libbies on your Table Table Table... Chiquita the Bannana and I''''m here to say...===

By "you", I am to assumne you are not American? In that case, shall we go over your own coutry''s crimes from 100 years ago? Now, in 2007, the US can still do some pretty messed up things (e.g., Iraq), but few will argue that NK''s leaders are less corrupt than ours. NK has a special place at the table for paranoid psychotic behavior.

[zootallures2]

Bush slammed Kerry in the 2004 debates for....

Posted by realpatriot1 at 10:36 AM : Sep 04, 2007

Bush and Kerry = Skull and Bonehead!

Actually, I''m pro Bush. If Gore or Kerry won, we''d never been able to expose what a corrupt, phony dump it really is. Clinton gunned down and burn children in Waco. Blew up the building in Oklahoma. The FBI even admitted to suplying the 93 WTC bomb... but you morons loved billy bob clinton.

[rafterman1]

===I know I shouldn''''t get into the partison aspects of this, but I''''m still ticked off at pwrslms bringing up Clinton as the devil and Bush as the Angel as usual.===

There was a time when I tried to avoid the partisan stuff too. When I first got around here, I was a moderate left-leaner who tried to argue points and not politics. But after a few months of being bombarded by pwrslms, infidel, perception5, Mudrose and lars and their ilk about how evil the libs are and everything is Bubba''s fault and I''m a traitor if I don''t goosetep in line and Bush and his boys are perfect angels, just being harrassed by those dastardly Dems, I just lost it. They actually pushed me farther left than I''ve ever been before once how I saw how bad the worst of the neocons can be.

[zootallures2]

Those countries are run by leaders even more messed up than Bush.

Posted by Rafterman1 at 10:33 AM : Sep 04, 2007

Paaaaaaleeeeze!
You murdered and enslaved the people in Guatamala for canned fruit! Libbies Libbies Libbies on your Table Table Table... Chiquita the Bannana and I''m here to say...

[realpatriot1]

I know I shouldn''t get into the partison aspects of this, but I''m still ticked off at pwrslms bringing up Clinton as the devil and Bush as the Angel as usual.

Bush slammed Kerry in the 2004 debates for preferring a one-on-one U.S.-NK negotiation to the multi-lateral talks that the White House preferred. It should be noted that the multi-lateral talks produced nothing and once they were given up on and one-on-one talks were begun we got an agreement.

[rafterman1]

realpatriot1, I agree with all your points. Their nuke program, and pretty much everything else in the DPRK, is driven by paranoia and Bush has certainly given countries like the DPRK and Iran something to be paranoid about. But North Korea and Chavez in Venezuela are two places I give Bush the benefit of the doubt. Those countries are run by leaders even more messed up than Bush.

[realpatriot1]

Rafterman1,

Good point! There''s no question that the North Koreans consider any oppotunity to weasel out of what they''ve agreed to. In fairness, this administration has a similar history and appears to be doing it again themselves.

I''m depending on memory here and don''t have any links to recite, but I thought I heard when this deal was announced that we were saying that NK would be removed from the terror list as part of the agreement.

The issue is that they are paranoid of us invading them and destabilizing the their government(that''s why they want nukes in the first place) and this after the fact action could give them reason to be paranoid and provide them with an excuse to renege.

[zootallures2]

AWWWWE... did they go to Iran to join in the human rights discussions? I think all the nations will agree who the main problem is. Mr. Hill, the carpet bagging arsekenazi worm can''t have that.

[rafterman1]

And so it begins, typical DPRK negotiating. Agree to something, then leak stuff to the press that goes beyond what was negotiated. The US says they didn''t agree to what was leaked and suddenly the DPRK starts "refining" the agreement from their end. It happened so many times, I''ve lost track. So don''t be too quick to jump on Clinton or Bush. North Korea''s leadership is bi-polar.