The Marmot’s Hole

A North Korean spokesman said that the US planned to take them off the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Something just didn’t seem right about that.

It wasn’t (AP):

“No, they haven’t been taken off the terrorism list,” Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told Japanese reporters as he arrived in Australia’s business capital for a meeting of Pacific Rim nations. A State Department press officer separately confirmed the remarks…

…”Getting off the list will depend on further denuclearization,” Hill told reporters later Tuesday after a meeting with Japan’s nuclear envoy, also in Sydney for a meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

Hill declined to specify what North Korea must do but said those things have been discussed with North Korean officials. “They know what these steps are,” Hill said.

There are specific things the North Koreans need to do to get off the terror list.  I don’t pretend to know what all of them are (Chris, feel free to zip me an email to let me know) but I believe a full explanation of its work with the AQ Khan network and a full accounting of the Japanese abduction issue are among them.

Luckily for Pyongyang, the Roh administration hasn’t expressed nearly as much concern over the fate of its hundreds or thousands of citizens abducted by North Korea as Japan has over its remaining 8 or 10, so the North Koreans don’t have to jump through that hoop.

The North Korean’s happy talk on the terror list may be to set up another excuse to delay the process and try to wring out more concessions from the US.  If so, we could be looking at another BDA struggle.