North Korea coming off terror blacklist

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WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Agencies): The United States is ready to drop North Korea from a terrorism blacklist, the Associated Press has learned, in the latest attempt by the administration to salvage a nuclear deal with Pyongyang before President Bush's term ends.
The act of striking North Korea from the list of countries said to be perpetrating terrorists acts could come as early as Saturday, now that Bush has approved it, say diplomats briefed on the initiatives pressing the North to abandon its atomic weapons programme.
The removal would be only provisional, officials said, and North Korea would be put back on the State Department's "state sponsors of terrorism" list if it doesn't comply with inspections of its nuclear facilities. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because the administration has not yet announced the step.
The expected delisting comes as North Korea moves to restart a disabled nuclear reactor and takes other provocative actions, including expelling U.N. inspectors and test firing missiles. These steps in recent weeks have heightened tensions between Washington and Pyongyang and threatened a shaky disarmament agreement.
It also follows days of intense internal debate in Washington and consultations with US negotiating partners China, South Korea, Russia and Japan. Tokyo had balked at the move because the North has not yet resolved issues related to its abduction of Japanese citizens.
Neither the White House nor the State Department would comment on the decision, which has been in the works since chief US negotiator Christopher Hill returned from a trip to North Korea late last week.
But earlier Friday, US officials said they were trying to build a consensus among negotiating partners on the step as well as the inspection regime that Washington insists must accompany the delisting.