U.S. moves to salvage nuclear pact

The United States removed North Korea from its blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism Saturday, in a last-ditch effort to salvage a nuclear deal with the communist state before President Bush leaves office.

After intensive negotiations, the Bush administration dropped its demand for agreement on a plan to verify the North’s recent nuclear declaration before “delisting.” But U.S. officials insisted that Pyongyang accepted the required measures, even if a formal “protocol” had not been finalized.

“Every single element of verification that we sought going in is part of this package,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said at a rare weekend briefing.

Mr. Bush notified Congress of his intention to take North Korea off the terrorist list after Pyongyang submitted its nuclear declaration in June. The administration did not delist North Korea within the required 45-day period, saying the verification protocol had to be established first.

Related article:N. Korea to resume dismantling nuclear facilities

The North Koreans, however, insisted that the chief U.S. negotiator, Christopher R. Hill, had promised them removal from the list after submission of the declaration, not the protocol. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sent Mr. Hill back to Pyongyang earlier this month to break the impasse.

Trying to find a compromise and move forward with the deal reached last year in six-country negotiations, the two sides agreed that North Korea will be delisted immediately, but the verification protocol will be “finalized and adopted by the six parties in the near future.”

In the meantime, they agreed on “understandings” that “will serve as the baseline” for the protocol, the State Department said.

Those measures include “the use of scientific procedures, including sampling and forensic activities,” the department said. “Experts from all six parties may participate in verification activities, including experts from non-nuclear states,” and the International Atomic Energy Agency “will have an important consultative and support role.”

“All measures contained in the verification protocol will apply to the plutonium-based program and any uranium-enrichment and proliferation activities,” the State Department said. “Experts will have access to all declared facilities and, based on mutual consent, to undeclared sites.”

Related story: North Korea wanted to inspect U.S. nuke sites

The “mutual consent” clause could allow the North to block access to undeclared sites, said Paula DeSutter, assistant secretary of state for verification, compliance and implementation. But she defended the language as a standard part of inspection deals that Washington has negotiated in the past.

“The idea of mutual consent is not a showstopper for us,” she said. “There should be no anticipation by anybody that there are not going to be bumps in the road. This is going to be a bumpy road. However, we are building a road.”

The six parties are the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, Russia and North Korea. Last year’s deal is aimed at dismantling the North’s nuclear programs. Earlier this year, the North almost disabled its main nuclear complex at Yongbyon, but several weeks ago, it said it was beginning to restore the reactor because Washington had not kept its word on delisting.

The only countries left on the terrorist list are Iran, Cuba, Syria and Sudan.

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