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N. Korea, Angry Over Terror List, Threatens to Rebuild Nuclear Program
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But in June, when President Bush agreed to take North Korea off the list, he said that "the United States has no illusions about the regime in Pyongyang" and would insist on verification that its nuclear program had been shut down.
That insistence on a "protocol of verification" before the impoverished North can get off the terrorism list -- and develop relationships with the International Monetary Fund and other lending agencies -- apparently infuriated the leadership in Pyongyang.
"The United States is gravely mistaken if it thinks it can make a house search in North Korea as it pleases just as it did in Iraq," the Foreign Ministry statement said. "North Korea does not care whether it continues remaining on the list of those countries which are disobedient to the United States.' "
Analysts in South Korea said Tuesday's angry statement by the North fits a familiar pattern of negotiation by fist-shaking.
"This is quite an expected reaction from North Korea, given that not much has happened since they symbolically exploded the cooling tower," said Koh Yu-whan, a professor of political science at Dongguk University in Seoul. "From the North Korean perspective, they thrive on crisis to make progress in their favor."
Special correspondent Stella Kim in Seoul and staff writer Dan Eggen in Washington contributed to this report.
