WASHINGTON  Pledging "action for action," President Bush on Thursday said North Korea has demonstrated a commitment to dismantling its nuclear weapons program and will be rewarded by being removed from the U.S. list of state sponsors and having trade sanctions lifted.
The president spoke hours after North Korea submitted its long-awaited declaration detailing its nuclear weapons activities. The government said that it would televise the demolition of the cooling tower at its Yongbyon nuclear facility on Friday, and turned over documents to China about its plutonium core and waste activities.
"Today is a positive day and it's a positive step forward," Bush said from the White House Rose Garden. "My point is this: We'll see. They said they are going to destroy parts of their plant in Pyongyang. That's a very positive step."
But Bush added, "We will trust you only to the extent that you fulfill your promises. I'm pleased with the progress ... there are no illusions, this is the first step."
Bush said that in response to North Korea, the U.S. would erase trade sanctions under the Trading With the Enemy Act and notify Congress that in 45 days it intends to take North Korea off the State Department list of nations that sponsor terrorism.
"The two actions America is taking will have real impact on North Korea's financial and diplomatic isolation," he said.
U.N. Security Council resolutions remain intact, however, and other requirements still must be met, including an accounting of several Japanese citizens who were abducted in the 1970s and '80s.
Ahead of the president's remarks, the White House issued a statement on Thursday morning welcoming the North Korean nuclear declaration. However, it noted that in order to "end its isolation," North Korea must "resolve outstanding questions on its highly enriched uranium and proliferation activities."
The declaration does not do that despite the Feb. 13, 2007, road map for the "action for action" phase of the larger denuclearization accord, which obligated North Korea to provide "a complete declaration of all nuclear programs" by Dec. 31, 2007.
Outstanding are still questions on the extent of uranium enrichment and proliferation -- mainly to Syria. Likewise, it does not include the number and location of nuclear bombs, of which North Korea is believed to have at least a half dozen.
At most, the declaration "acknowledges" U.S. concerns about those details. Likewise, while the cooling tower explosion will be verifiable, it is only one element of a nuclear track and can be rebuilt in a year if the government of Kim Jong-il has a change of heart.
A U.S. official said North Korea has agreed to intensive U.S. verification of its plutonium production for nuclear weapons. Paperwork handed over to Chinese officials contains detailed data on the amount of plutonium produced during each of several rounds of production at a now-shuttered plutonium reactor.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. will check North Korea's math through a combination of documents, interviews and onsite visits to the reactor.
Speaking after the president, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley reiterated that North Korea's declaration was only a stepping stone and said concerns over the program remain. Although North Korea declared its nuclear weapons program defunct, its involvement with Syria, and the amount of plutonium produced and uranium enrichment need to be explored, he said.
"Our intelligence community has some concerns about their past activities, and has some concerns about potentially ongoing activities. And we have been learning more about these potential activities as part of the six-party process," Hadley said.
Hadley also downplayed the level of freedom North Korea will receive through the lifting of sanctions. He said the new rule will ease licensing for Americans who want to import North Korean goods, allow more Americans to participate in shipments of third-party goods to North Korea and lift prohibitions with some financial transactions between Americans and the North Korean government. The U.S. also agreed to increase fuel oil shipments to North Korea in response to their declaration.
But he noted that the president also immediately issued an executive order broadening prohibitions on interaction between Americans and North Korean boats and freezing some assets.
"These are symbolic acts," Hadley said of the gestures made by Bush. "They have some consequences in terms of easing sanctions. I will tell you, and the North Koreans understand, that the degree of easing sanctions is relatively minor."
Bush said that the Six Party Talks yielded success in returning North Korea to the international community, "much the way Libya has done in the past few years." But if Pyongyang does not respond to additional requirements, "there will be further consequences."
"If North Korea continues to make the right choices, it can repair its relationship with the international community. ... If North Korea makes the wrong choices, the United States and its partners in the Six Party Talks will act accordingly.
"The diplomatic process is not an end in itself. Our ultimate goal remains clear: a stable North Korean peninsula," Bush said.
Map shows North Korean political map. Yongbyon is located north west of Pyongyang in the North Pyongyang province

Fulfilling a pledge of fairness, United States president George W. Bush announced Thursday that the United States will soon remove North Korea from a list of countries seen as 'sponsoring terrorism' in the world.

The announcement was made as a 'reward' to North Korea for turning over all documents related to its controversial nuclear program. Pyongyang turned over to China documents related to its plutonium core and waste activities.

Pyongyang finally turned over documents and plans of its nuclear enrichment facilities in Yongbyong. 

North Korean state television also announced that the state will televise the demolition of the cooling tower of the Yongbyong nuclear facilities on Friday.

Mr. Bush called the North Korean action as a positive step with no illusions. He also said that the act truly pleased him and it's just the first step towards repairing North Korea's relation and status with the world community.
United States President George W. Bush

The president added that in response to the act, he will lift the trade sanctions under the Trading With the Enemy Act. The White House will also inform the U.S. Congress that in 45 days, the State Department will remove North Korea from a list of nations that sponsor terrorism.

The United States reminded North Korea that it still has some requirements to complete in order for the country to be completely removed from its diplomatic and economic isolation. Pyongyang still remains obliged to answer questions such as the degree of its uranium enrichment and proliferation that possibly benefited Syria.

The United Nations sanction sponsored by the United States issued on February 13, 2007 also demanded for a complete accounting of the alleged half a dozen units of nuclear bombs, the real number and its actual location. 

U.S. National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley downplayed any heightened expectations from North Korea and branded the latest act as a mere "stepping stone." Hadley warned that the process remains delicate and there will still be "definite consequences," if North Korea fails to fulfill its end of the bargain.

Meanwhile, Japan expressed 'unease' over the decision of the United States to remove North Korea from the 'terror' list, claiming that there is still a need to resolve issues about the kidnapping of Japanese nationals by agents of Pyongyang.