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Bill says U.S. can pay North Korea for destroying nukes
The war supplemental funding bill that is awaiting the presidents signature includes a provision that allows the U.S. to help pay for the dismantling of North Koreas nuclear weapons. The Senate passed the measure on Thursday, the same day the White House announced that it would begin removing North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. President Bushs move followed North Koreas detailed release of its nuclear activities. As part of the supplemental, both chambers passed a waiver to the so-called 1994 Glenn amendment, which prohibits the U.S. from providing funding to states that detonate a nuclear device but are officially considered non-nuclear weapon states under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The absence of the waiver could have led to an embarrassing situation where progress on dismantling North Koreas nuclear program would have been delayed because of a technicality, said Leonor Tomero, Director of Nuclear Non-Proliferation at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. The administration supports the waiver to the amendment. However, some lawmakers disagreed with the administrations decision to take North Korea off the terror list. Removing the regime from the list of state sponsors of terrorism is premature. This dictatorship remains a real threat to the region and their blatant violations, time and time again, should not be forgotten, said Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.), the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Lifting sanctions and removing North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism flies in the face of history and rewards its brutal dictator for shallow gestures, said Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.), Bonds House counterpart. Posted by: ryuge 2008-06-29 |
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