WASHINGTON - NORTH Korea will stay on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism until it makes a full declaration of its nuclear activities, the White House warned on Wednesday.

Asked whether Washington was about to remove Pyongyang from the group, which exposes the Stalinist country to sanctions, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino replied: 'No'.

'Right now where we are is waiting on the North Koreans to provide a complete and accurate declaration of their nuclear activities,' which had been due by Dec 31 under a February 2007 deal, said Ms Perino.

The State Department's coordinator for counter-terrorism, Dell Dailey, told a group of reporters on Tuesday that North Korea appeared to have met the requirements for being taken off the list, the Washington Post reported.

'You go back six months, you see if there's been any visible support or material support. We don't see that with North Korea. You also ask them to give an affirmation that they will not do things in the future,' the Post cited him as saying. 'It appears that North Korea has complied with those criteria.'

The State Department, which also includes Cuba, Iran, Sudan, and Syria on the list, says that North Korea is not known to have sponsored any terrorist acts since the 1987 bombing.

North Korea agreed in a 2007 landmark six-party treaty to disable its main atomic facilities, but it missed the Dec 31 deadline to give a full declaration of all its nuclear programmes.

Energy aid
In response to the disablement and declaration, the negotiating partners - South Korea, the US, China, Japan and Russia - were to supply one million tonnes of fuel oil or equivalent energy aid.

The United States was also to start the process of removing the North from its terrorism list, which blocks access to bilateral economic aid and loans from international financial institutions.

But Japanese officials and groups have urged Washington not to take Pyongyang off the list until it provides a full accounting of abductions of Japanese citizens, purportedly to train its spies.

Pyongyang media in recent days has criticised Washington for failing to start the process.

Earlier Wednesday, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper said North Korea was willing to become nuclear-free if the United States honoured its commitments in return.

The comments in the Choson Sinbo, published in Japan by a pro-Pyongyang organisation, were the latest in a series accusing Washington of failing to live up to its commitments under a six-nation disarmament pact.

'The DPRK (North Korea) has a firm resolution to denuclearise the Korean peninsula. The key is whether the US and other parties are implementing their duties,' said the website of the paper, which normally reflects official thinking.

'The DPRK will continue to fulfil what it is supposed to do, in accordance with the action-for-action principle, when the US carries out its duty.' - AFP

Is this article useful to you?