Bush will take North Korea off the terror list. Will it make America safer?

North Korea turned over a long-awaited inventory of its nuclear program today as part of a deal that will allow the lifting of some U.S. sanctions.

President Bush said the declaration puts North Korea "a step closer" to denuclearization, and announced he would reciprocate by removing North Korea from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, a designation that has represented Washington's longstanding condemnation of Pyongyang. Bush also will scale back other U.S. sanctions.

In turn, North Korea is supposed to blow up the cooling tower of its main nuclear reactor, an event to be broadcast live by television crews from the United States, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia, all parties to six-nation talks on nuclear dismantlement. Read today's article.

Will this improve the overall safety of the United States? Is Iran likely to follow suit? Is North Korea being sincere? What do you think of this announcement?

Photo: President Bush speaks on North Korea in the Rose Garden today. Credit: Mandel Ngan AFP/Getty Images

Comments

[Sanjoy Das]

N. Korea does not need nuclear weapons, when it is surrounded by two non-nuclear neighbors, South Korea and Japan, and a very friendly nuclear China.

Kim Jong Il needs food for its starving people. He needs more technology, investment, and all that for North Korea. He also needs legitimacy, and now that is what he'll get. I don't see why Bush deserves any credit for "accomplishing" the inevitable.

The only reason why N. Korea detonated a nuclear device (which turned out to be dud) was to get maximum possible political mileage.

Simultaneously, the US was upping the ante by classifying it as a "terrorist nation" along with its usual foes in West Asia, as a bargain.

On the other hand, Bush is responsible for strengthening Iran's hand after the invasion of Iraq. Denuclearizing Iran will be a huge challenge.

[Bob Liskey]

I was Chief, Intelligence Branch, Military Intel Div, G2, Hq, 8th US Army when the USS PUEBLO was illegally seized by NK shortly after NK sent a 31 man assassination team into SK to kill the South Korean president PAK CHUNG HUI in January 1968.

NK should be required to return the USS PUEBLO as evidence of intent to improve relations with the USA and as a precondition of removing NK from any list of states supporting terror.

Upon return of the USS PUEBLO I would like to see the USS PUEBLO docked next to the USS MIDWAY in SAN DIEGO, CA. It should be dedicated as a memorial to the crew of the USS PUEBLO, CMDR PETE BUCHER and DUANE HODGES killed in the illegal seizure of the USS PUEBLO by NK.