U.S. bill would force conditions before lifting North Korea from terror list
© AP
25.09.2007 23:09:22
(live-PR.com) - WASHINGTON (AP) - A U.S. lawmaker introduced a bill Tuesday that would prevent North Korea's removal from a U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism until it stops what the lawmaker described as nuclear and missile exports to rogue regimes.
Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said North Korea should also halt training and financing of terror
groups, stop counterfeiting U.S. currency and release abducted Japanese citizens before the U.S. lifts economic and political sanctions.
«Our policy toward this regime cannot be based on the hope that it will actually honor its commitments but based instead on its actual performance,» Ros-Lehtinen said.
Under a February accord, North Korea said it would scrap its nuclear programs. In return, the U.S. agreed to open talks on normalizing relations with the North and to explore removing the terrorism designation.
Ros-Lehtinen criticized the «duplicity of the Pyongyang regime in pursuing proliferation ties with Syria even while continuing» six-nation nuclear disarmament talks.
She was referring to news reports that Israeli warplanes this month attacked a Syrian installation that was allegedly either a Syrian-North Korean nuclear project or a shipment of arms for Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon. North Korea has denied any nuclear link with Syria.
The North shut down its nuclear reactor in July and has pledged to declare and disable all its nuclear facilities by year's end.
A new round of talks involving the U.S., the Koreas, China, Russia and Japan is scheduled this week.
Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said North Korea should also halt training and financing of terror
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«Our policy toward this regime cannot be based on the hope that it will actually honor its commitments but based instead on its actual performance,» Ros-Lehtinen said.
Under a February accord, North Korea said it would scrap its nuclear programs. In return, the U.S. agreed to open talks on normalizing relations with the North and to explore removing the terrorism designation.
Ros-Lehtinen criticized the «duplicity of the Pyongyang regime in pursuing proliferation ties with Syria even while continuing» six-nation nuclear disarmament talks.
She was referring to news reports that Israeli warplanes this month attacked a Syrian installation that was allegedly either a Syrian-North Korean nuclear project or a shipment of arms for Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon. North Korea has denied any nuclear link with Syria.
The North shut down its nuclear reactor in July and has pledged to declare and disable all its nuclear facilities by year's end.
A new round of talks involving the U.S., the Koreas, China, Russia and Japan is scheduled this week.
