White House hopeful Barack Obama on Saturday said the US government had taken an "appropriate" step in taking North Korea off a terrorism blacklist, while rival John McCain struck a note of caution.
In reactions after Washington said Pyongyang had taken steps to verify its nuclear disarmament, the Democratic presidential candidate said that North Korea must understand that if it did not follow through on its pledges to dismantle atomic plants, it would face "immediate consequences."
Republican presidential candidate McCain expressed disquiet about the Bush administration's move late Friday, saying it was not yet possible to verify the Stalinist state was being sincere.
In the latest twist to its long-running showdown with North Korea over its nuclear program, the US State Department said Saturday it had "rescinded the designation of North Korea as a state terror sponsor" after North Korea agreed to disarmament verification steps.
Obama, who has accused the Bush administration of not making sufficient diplomatic efforts to defuse America's disputes with its enemies, described the move as a "modest step forward."
Bush's removal of North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism "is an appropriate response, as long as there is a clear understanding that if North Korea fails to follow through there will be immediate consequences," Obama said in a statement.
But he said North Korea must halt all efforts to reassemble nuclear facilities, should put the plants back under International Atomic Energy Agency supervision and cooperate in the disablement of the Yongbyon facility.
"The last eight years have demonstrated the necessity of confronting the threat from North Korea through aggressive, sustained, and direct bilateral and multilateral diplomacy," Obama said.
McCain has repeatedly attacked Obama for his offer to speak to the leaders of US enemies, saying he would squander the prestige of the US presidency.
The Arizona senator expressed disquiet about the pending Bush administration move late Friday.
"I have previously said that I would not support the easing of sanctions North Korea unless the United States is able to fully verify the nuclear declaration Pyongyang submitted on June 26," McCain said in a statement.
"It is not clear that the latest verification arrangement will enable us to do so," he said.
"I am also concerned that this latest agreement appears to have been reached between Washington and Pyongyang and only then discussed with our Asian allies in an effort to garner their support.
"Diplomacy is a critical tool in ending the North Korean nuclear weapons program, and it must involve our closest partners in Northeast Asia.
"As this process moves forward, I expect the administration to explain exactly how this new verification agreement advances American interests and those of our allies before I will be able to support any decision to remove North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism."
