The US has decided to remove North Korea from a list of terrorism-sponsoring states and lift sanctions against the communist country, a spokesman for North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said.
Washington’s decision to lift sanctions and remove the North from a terrorism list came in a weekend meeting with North Korean representatives in Geneva, the spokesman said in comments carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.
There was no immediate confirmation from the US side.
The move came after North Korea agreed to take “practical measures to neutralise the existing nuclear facilities” this year, the spokesman said.
Besides being subject to economic sanctions, North Korea has also been on a US list of states that sponsor terrorism, effectively blocking the North from being able to obtain low-interest loans from international lending agencies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
The North was first put on the list for its alleged involvement in the 1987 bombing of a South Korean airliner that killed all 115 people aboard.
The US gesture improves the prospects for the next round of nuclear talks involving the two Koreas, the US, China, Russia and Japan.
South Korea’s Foreign Minister Song Min-soon hailed the meeting in Geneva as “very positive” but issued a note of caution about the prospect of disabling North Korea’s existing facilities.
“We have to be careful with these new developments but at the same time also make sure that we move forward,” Song said.
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