US Removes North Korea from List of State Sponsors of Terrorism
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Related subjects: Arms Proliferation, Asia / Pacific, China, Diplomacy & Politics, J.E. Robertson, The Russian Federation Comments Off
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea, has been removed from the United States’ government’s official list of “state sponsors of terrorism”. The move comes as part of an agreement among the Six Parties involved in denuclearization talks regarding the DPRK, which will restart the dismantling of all nuclear facilities in North Korea, and will include inspections, document review, and other measures designed to prevent the further production of nuclear weapons in the secretive state.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told the press that “Every element of verification that we sought is included in this package”, meaning the US could be assured that the Six Parties, as the established body for scrutinizing adherence to the denuclearization pact, would be able to verify that the DPRK was not continuing its pursuit of weaponized nuclear technology.
The Six Parties —North Korea (DPRK), South Korea (ROK), Japan, China, Russia, and the United States— each have an historic and strategic interest in the Korean peninsula remaining free of nuclear weapons. Under the new agreement, any bilateral nuclear or security negotiations within the Six Parties framework would need to be recognized and supported by the Six Parties, uniformly. The chief negotiating partners within the Six Parties remain the DPRK and the United States, which while demanding the denuclearization of the North, also promises to provide specific assistance in stabilizing the North’s food and energy supplies.
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The Six Parties framework requires that negotiations, goals and mechanisms implemented by “fair and realistic”, and to that end, the North has sought compensation for its denuclearization process. Part of that compensation package includes being removed from the “state sponsors of terrorism” list maintained by the US State Dept. Japan has requested that any agreement include a mechanism for the repatriation of entire families related to or descended from individuals abducted by the DPRK, as well as a comprehensive investigation of the matter.
White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told the press would “continue to strongly support Japan’s position on the abduction issue and will urge North Korea to take immediate steps to implement the commitments it made this summer as part the agreement reached with Japan”. Today’s announcement comes on the heels of an agreement to formalize, in writing, “at the Six Party level”, the denuclearization pact, along with its agreed norms, targets and processes.
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