Kim: North off U.S. terrorism list

Joong Ang Daily
Yeh Young-June and Ser Myo-ja
3/9/2007

The United States has already agreed to take North Korea off Washington’s list of states that sponsor terrorism and a follow-up development will happen soon, Kim Gye-gwan, North Korea’s vice foreign minister, said yesterday.

The United States is expected to release a new list in April. Mr. Kim said no conditions were placed on North Korea’s removal from the list.

After two days of talks in New York with his American counterpart, Christopher Hill, Mr. Kim arrived at Narita International Airport in Tokyo last night and spoke to reporters briefly on his way back to Pyongyang.

“Spring is coming, so the atmosphere will change,” Mr. Kim said, describing the first round of normalization talks as “constructive.”

He also said the discussion included North Korea’s cooperation in the investigation of a highly enriched uranium-based nuclear arms program.

Mr. Kim said he and Mr. Hill also discussed the possibility of arranging a foreign minister-level meeting among the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States. “It will probably take place around April,” Mr. Kim said. “It is, however, not to upgrade the six-party talks. It is for the six ministers to get together to give momentum to the six-party talks.”

Asked whether Pyongyang will make more demands after financial sanctions on North Korean accounts in a bank in Macao, China are lifted, Mr. Kim said, “Just think that things are going well. Don’t try to know too much about it.”

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