The United States could drop some sanctions against North Korea before it verifies any nuclear declaration from Pyongyang, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday. Also Thursday, Reuters reported that an American team would visit North Korea next week to discuss how to verify the “complete and correct” accounting of its nuclear programs that Pyongyang was due to deliver by December 31. North Korea did not produce the declaration by the deadline, threatening a 2005 deal under which the communist state would receive diplomatic and economic rewards in return for abandoning all nuclear weapons and programs. Part of the delay is due to Pyongyang's reluctance to discuss any transfer of nuclear technology to other countries, notably Syria, as well as to account for its suspected pursuit of uranium enrichment.
