N. Korea underscores opposition to terrorism

Pyongyang/Beijing, June 11 Kyodo - North Korea underscored its opposition against terrorism on Tuesday, in a possible move aimed at laying the groundwork for the United States to take it off a U.S. blacklist of terrorism sponsors.
''The DPRK will firmly maintain its consistent stand of opposing all forms of terrorism and any support to it,'' a Foreign Ministry statement said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
North Korea will ''fulfill its responsibility and duty in the struggle against terrorism as a dignified member of the United Nations,'' the statement said.
The United States has promised to take North Korea off its list of state sponsors of terrorism as progress is made in North Korea's denuclearization under the six-party talks.
A diplomatic source said that Washington has also demanded Pyongyang announce a clean break with terrorism if it wants to be delisted, and that Tuesday's statement may have been meant to fulfill that requirement.
While the six-way negotiations have stalled over differences regarding an acceptable account of North Korea's nuclear programs, recent meetings of parties involved have raised the possibility of the multilateral process finally moving forward.
In the statement, North Korea said it ''will take active part in the international efforts to prevent substance, equipment and technology to be used for the production of nukes and biochemical and radioactive weapons from finding their ways to the terrorists and the organizations that support them.''
It will ''faithfully fulfill its duty in the field of non-proliferation,'' the statement said.
''The DPRK fully supports the international community in its efforts to establish an international legal mechanism to combat terrorism and will actively cooperate with it in taking effective measures for it,'' the statement said. ==Kyodo