Washington has no immediate plan to remove North Korea from its list of terrorism-sponsoring nations, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice assured Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura over the phone Monday.
Speaking to reporters in Tokyo after talks with Rice, Komura said the U.S. decision not to remove North Korea from its blacklist is a "matter of course."
"There hasn't been any agreement on a process to verify let alone any verification" that confirms North Korea's denuclearization, Komura said, adding the prospects of an immediate delisting were slim to begin with.