The US State Department has confirmed that it has taken North Korea off its terrorism blacklist in what is reported to be a bid to salvage denuclearisation talks.
The United States and North Korea have agreed experts will have access to all "declared" nuclear facilities and the United Nations atomic agency will play an important role in verifying Pyongyang's nuclear activities, a senior US official said.
US and North Korean negotiators agreed last week on the verification measures, which had been delayed for months. US envoy Chris Hill visited Pyongyang last week and helped draw up the measures, which included agreement that the International Atomic Energy Agency would have an "important consultative and support role in verification," according to a State Department fact sheet .
"(Verification measures included) agreement that experts will have access to all declared facilities, and, based on mutual consent, to undeclared sites," the document said.
There was also agreement on the use of various scientific procedures for verification, including sampling and forensic activities, it added.
All the measures in a verification mechanism would apply to the North's plutonium-based program and any uranium enrichment and proliferation activities, said the document.
US and North Korean negotiators also agreed that experts from the six nations involved in denuclearization talks with Pyongyang could take part in verification activities.
The drive to revive the deal comes as secretive and impoverished North Korea has stepped up efforts to rebuild its nuclear facility at Yongbyon and banned UN monitors from the Soviet-era plant - moves Washington say must be reversed.
Under a broad accord struck in 2005 between North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States, Pyongyang agreed to abandon all nuclear programmes in exchange for potential economic and diplomatic benefits.
Under a subsequent pact, the United States suggested it would remove North Korea from the terrorism list in exchange for Pyongyang providing a "complete and correct" declaration of all of its nuclear programmes.
That deal had become snagged, however, by North Korea's reluctance to accept a mechanism allowing the United States or other members of the talks to verify its declaration.
North Korea tested a nuclear device in 2006 using plutonium and it is suspected of pursuing a uranium enrichment programme, which would provide a second path to make fissile material for nuclear weapons.
On Friday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke to Japan's foreign minister, who had voiced strong misgivings about any plans to remove North Korea from the list until the abductions issue was resolved.
Reuters