North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and his late father, Kim Il Sung, who died in 1994, together have outlasted every American president since Harry Truman. Many analysts believe that the communist government is reluctant to carry through on a deal with a lame-duck administration, especially one with which relations have been so testy.
"They are not in any rush to expedite the process," Pinkston said.
North Korea also has a long history of creating crises to grab attention in the midst of other major events, and the Democratic National Convention is a prime occasion. The regime also might have been irritated by the visit to Seoul by Chinese President Hu Jintao, which concluded Tuesday.
North Korea was placed on the State Department list of terrorism sponsors after the 1987 bombing of a South Korean airplane over the Indian Ocean. The designation has stuck because of continuing concerns over weapons proliferation and North Korea's failure to release Japanese citizens abducted years ago.
After Bush's first directive to remove North Korea from the terrorism list, Congress had 45 days to review his decision. The earliest day that the removal could have become effective was Aug. 11. But the United States last week said it would not go forward until an inspection mechanism is set up to verify the denuclearization.
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barbara.demick@latimes.com
