U.S. hints at putting N. Korea back on terror list over stalled nuke talks By Hwang Doo-hyong

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 (Yonhap) -- The United States Wednesday hinted at relisting North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism since the North has balked at allowing samples to be taken from its nuclear facilities under the terms of the multilateral id-for-denuclearization talks.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told a daily news briefing that that
action cannot be ruled out.
"Look, I guess, I suppose, these things are always possible," McCormack said when
asked if the U.S. is considering listing the North again. "You know, I don't know
the ins and outs of the law. But I think it's based on behavior. And we'll see
what behavior North Korea engages in."
McCormack was referring to the latest round of the six-party talks, which ended
with no agreement from the North to allow sampling at its Yongbyon nuclear
complex as part of a nuclear verification protocol. The third and possibly last
day of talks concluded Wednesday in Beijing.
Kim Kye-gwan, the North's chief nuclear envoy, refused to guarantee the sampling
in writing, citing what he called hostile U.S. policy toward North Korea.
The U.S. delisted the North in October, saying Pyongyang agreed to the sampling
during a visit by Christopher Hill, assistant secretary of state.
In Beijing Wednesday, North Korea's Kim, however, refuted the U.S. claim that the
sides have a common understanding on the sampling issue. Kim's remarks buttressed
the views of pessimists that the North, in its attempt to get energy aid in the
on-and-off denuclearization process, has no intention of dealing further with the
outgoing Bush administration.
"We know what was agreed upon. We have it on paper," McCormack said. "We have a
solid understanding of it. Other countries within the six-party talks share that
understanding."
The spokesman said his government will "go down another pathway" if the North
fails to agree on the sampling, apparently referring to putting the North back on
the terrorism list.
North Korea remains one of the most heavily sanctioned nations in the world by
the U.S. and international community.
"So there's still a lot of leverage in place," McCormack said.
"Part of that equation in making the assessment -- have they taken those steps,
you know, have they made a final decision to denuclearize? -- is a verification
protocol and implementation of that verification protocol," the spokesman said.
"I mean, the ultimate metric in judging that is the fact that they don't -- they
no longer have a nuclear program," he said. "You know, we're not near that stage
at this point, but there are important other waypoints along the way. This
verification protocol is one of them."
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)