Washington - North Korea has agreed to allow rigorous inspections of all its nuclear activities in exchange for being removed from the US terrorism blacklist, the US State Department announced on Saturday. The agreement was brokered after the US envoy to the six-nation talks travelled to North Korea last week in an effort to break the impasse in the stalled process of ending the Stalinist state's nuclear programme.
The process had reached a stalemate after North Korea refused to agree to a mechanism for verifying the details of all of its nuclear activities until Washington removed the country from its state sponsors of terrorism list.
US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters on Saturday North Korea promised to allow international inspections and come clean its nuclear progamme, including an alleged programme for enriching uranium and the proliferation of nuclear technology.
Under the agreement, North Korea will allow International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors access to its nucelar facilities. Inspectors will be allowed to take samples, review documents and interview North Korean nuclear energy experts.
Additionally, North Korea will resume work to shut down its nuclear energy facilities.
"Every element of verification that we sought is included in this package," McCormack said. "The next step is living up to the key tenent of the six-party agreement," he added.
McCormack said North Korea has signed onto the most recent arrangement after US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill travelled to Pyongyang last week.
President George W Bush's administration has come under fire for cutting a deal with North Korea because of the country's human rights violations and the threat it poses by pursuing atomic weapons.
North Korea agreed to abandon its nuclear weapons programme in a 2007 pact produced by six-nation talks that also included China, Japan, Russia and South Korea after years of contentious negotiations.
The United States agreed to improving diplomatic and economic relations with North Korea in return for the commitment to disarm. The agreement also requires the United States and the other countries to provide North Korea with fuel oi
