"(4th LD) N.K. reaffirms commitment to anti-terrorism as U.S. change of terrorism list draws near "

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2008/06/10/23/0301000000AEN20080610007100315F.HTML

North Korea officially claimed through Korean Central News that "Upon the authorization of the government, the DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarifies that the DPRK will firmly maintain its consistent stand of opposing all forms of terrorism and any support to it and fulfill its responsibility and duty in the struggle against terrorism as a dignified member of the United Nations, in the future."

During the Six-Party-Talk in last October, South Korea, Japan, United States, Russia, and China requested North Korea to close down all of nuclear facilities that could create nuclear weapons and summit official document of all nuclear programs by end of the year. In return, they promised for "removal and other political and economic rewards." However, North Korea didn't follow the requests and claimed that U.S must remove North Korea from terrorist state. (North Korea became terrorist state after they bombed South Korean plane that had 115 innocent people.) U.S agreed that if North Korea does as they request, they will remove North Korea from the blacklist.

On last Tuesday, Kim Sung, a director of the U.S. State Department's Office of Korean Affairs, received 18,000 pages of documents. Now, U.S specialists are reviewing the documents to find out whether it's correct or not. As it is closer for U.S to decide whether to remove North Korea from the blacklist, North Korea reaffirms that they are not terrorist country and will not support any terrorist groups, but actually support to fight against them.

I think this is very interesting, especially after Dr. Larsen said one of the reasons why North Korea is keeping the nuclear weapon was that growing fear of U.S attack after they claimed North Korea as axis of evil. I was, in fact, very surprised to see how North Korea is making big deal about whether they are terrorist country or not. Really, does it matter? I guess it does, but North Korea still will be North Korea, an enemy, unless they become democratic country or something really really really dramatic happens, like U.S becoming communist state.