The United States is dropping North Korea from a terrorism blacklist, The Associated Press has learned, in the latest attempt to salvage a nuclear disarmament deal before President George W. Bush's term ends in January. The State Department planned an 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) announcement Saturday about removing the secretive communist country from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, US officials said. The removal is only provisional, they said. North Korea would return to the list if it fails to comply with inspections of its nuclear facilities as part of the effort to get it to abandon atomic weapons. The action comes as North Korea moves to restart a disabled nuclear reactor and takes other provocative steps, including expelling UN inspectors and test-firing missiles. These steps in recent weeks have heightened tensions with the US and threatened the shaky 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 North Korea has not resolved issues related to its abduction of Japanese citizens. The decision has been in the works since chief US negotiator Christopher Hill returned from a trip to North Korea late last week. On his visit, he pressed North Korea to accept a plan to verify its accounting of nuclear activities.
