U.S. presidential nominees differ on N. Korea delisting

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 (Yonhap) -- U.S. presidential nominees John McCain and Barack
Obama are weighing in on the recent decision by the Bush administration to remove
North Korea from a U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.
McCain, the Republican nominee, said Saturday he would not support the delisting
unless the United States is able to fully verify North Korea's nuclear
facilities.
His position was released in time with the Bush administration's announcement
earlier in the day on the delisting and contrasts sharply with his Democratic
rival Barack Obama, who welcomed the move as "a modest step forward" in the
denuclearization process.
McCain's stance is in line with U.S. hardliners who have denounced Bush for
offering too many concessions to North Korea in order to save a nuclear deal
reached in February 2007. The latest move also comes amid a series of foreign
policy failures in the Middle East and in the waning months of Bush's second
term, which expires in January.
"I have previously said that I would not support the easing of sanctions on North
Korea unless the United States is able to fully verify the nuclear declaration
Pyongyang submitted on June 26," McCain said in a statement. "It is not clear
that the latest verification arrangement will enable us to do so."
The Arizona senator was addressing concerns about loopholes in the verification
agreement that allow inspectors access to declared nuclear sites but restricts
access to undeclared sites on the basis of consent from Pyongyang.
"I have no illusions that there will be no impasses in the future," Richard C.
Bush, senior fellow at The Brookings Institution, told Yonhap News Agency. "The
condition of mutual consent for verification visits and sampling virtually
guarantees that there will be more disagreements."
According to the State Department, the North agreed that experts from the six
party countries would have "access to all declared facilities and, based on
mutual consent, to undeclared sites."
McCain, who is seeking to distance himself from the increasingly unpopular Bush,
also said that "this latest agreement appears to have been reached between
Washington and Pyongyang and only then discussed with our Asian allies in an
effort to garner their support."
McCain's statements were made in an apparent reference to Japan's reluctance to
go along with the delisting, which prompted Bush to telephone Japanese Prime
Minister Taro Aso early Saturday to seek his consent.
"I am also concerned that recent negotiations appear not to have addressed the
issue of North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens, a serious omission and
directly relevant to any decision about North Korea's support for terrorist
activities," McCain said.
Japan claims North Korea is still holding several Japanese abductees, and
maintains the issue should be part of the six-party nuclear talks on ending North
Korea's nuclear ambitions. South Korea, China and Russia say it should not impede
multilateral nuclear talks.
Obama, meanwhile, has also urged the Bush administration to fully address the
kidnapping issue.
"Looking ahead, North Korea must also resolve all questions about the abduction
of Japanese and South Korean citizens, and of the Reverend Kim Dong-Shik," he
said. "I urge the Bush Administration to continue to use our diplomatic and
economic leverage to press North Korea to cooperate fully with Tokyo, Seoul and
Washington on these matters."
The Illinois senator welcomed the delisting as "a modest step forward in
dismantling its nuclear weapons programs."
"President Bush's decision to remove North Korea from the list of state sponsors
of terrorism is an appropriate response, as long as there is a clear
understanding that if North Korea fails to follow through there will be immediate
consequences," he said.
Obama urged North Korea to "halt all efforts to reassemble its nuclear
facilities, place them back under IAEA supervision, and cooperate fully with the
international community to complete the disablement of the Yongbyon facilities
and to implement a robust verification mechanism to confirm the accuracy of its
nuclear declaration."
He urged the Bush administration to reimpose sanctions, including returning the
North to the terrorism list, if it refuses a complete verification of all its
nuclear programs.
"If North Korea refuses to permit robust verification, we should lead all members
of the Six Party talks in suspending energy assistance, re-imposing sanctions
that have recently been waived, and considering new restrictions," he said.
"If North Korea abandons its nuclear weapons programs, there will be meaningful
incentives," he said. "If it refuses, it faces a future of political and economic
isolation."