By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Despite North Korea's recent threats to conduct a nuclear test, the United States has refrained from re-listing the Stalinist state as a state sponsor of terrorism.
However, there is a possibility of it being labeled as a ``not fully cooperating country'' instead, North Korea watchers here said Friday.
``The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was not known to have sponsored any terrorist acts since the bombing of a Korean Airline flight in 1987,'' said Country Reports on Terrorism 2008 published by the U.S. Department of State Thursday. The DPRK is the official name of North Korea.
Designating only four countries ― Iran, Syria, Sudan and Cuba ― as sponsors of terrorism, the report said, ``On Oct. 11, the United States rescinded the designation of the DPRK as a state sponsor of terrorism in accordance with criteria set forth in U.S. law.''
The law includes a certification that the government of North Korea has not provided any support for international terrorism during the preceding six-month period and the provision by the government of assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future, it said.
But it added that it would be too soon to confirm that North Korea was completely clear of the terrorism-related label.
The State Department is reviewing North Korea's status as what they call a not-fully-cooperating country, Ronald Schlicher, acting coordinator of counter-terrorism at the department, told a press conference to mark the publication of the annual report.
``That review is part of a broader process of identifying the countries not fully cooperating. And a decision in that whole process, including North Korea, should be coming in the next few weeks,'' he said.
In the meantime, Iran remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism in the report.
``Iran's involvement in the planning and financial support of terrorist attacks throughout the Middle East, Europe, and Central Asia had a direct impact on international efforts to promote peace, threatened economic stability in the Gulf, and undermined the growth of democracy,'' the report said.
It also introduced North Korea's stance regarding pending matters including the abduction issue with Japan.
``On Aug. 12, Japan and the DPRK agreed on steps toward the eventual resolution to this issue. The DPRK has not yet implemented its commitment to reopen its investigations into the abductions, however,'' the report said.