BROWNBACK ASKS THAT NORTH KOREA BE PLACED BACK ON STATE SPONSOR OF TERROR LIST Dismayed with status of U.S. negotiations with North Korea

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Sam Brownback today commented on the status of negotiations with North Korea.

"For the second time in as many Administrations, the North Korean regime demanded and received substantial concessions from the United States, only to renege on their own commitments and make a mockery of the negotiations," said Brownback. "American concessions must be earned, not stolen. If the Six Party Talks are based on the principle of action for action, the president should respond to North Korea's bad-faith actions by placing North Korea back on the list of state sponsors of terror. Doing so would not only protect the integrity of American diplomacy, but would also restore the proper legal status to a regime that exported a nuclear reactor to Syria, operates political gulags with unspeakable cruelty, and starves its citizens."

Last week, the Six Party Talks ended in a stalemate when North Korea refused to commit in writing to any inspection of past nuclear activities. As a result, no aid-for-disarmament agreement was reached.

Brownback continued, "American officials must not ignore the suffering of the North Korean people. Kim Jung Il's regime remains one of the worst human rights abusers in the world and is responsible for millions of deaths caused by famine, forced labor, and political executions."