US President George W. Bush speaks on North Korea June 26, 2008 in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC. The United States on Thursday welcomed North Korea's accounting of its nuclear programs and announced steps to remove the communist state from a terrorism blacklist and ease some trade sanctions. The White House will immediately lift sanctions under the Trading with the Enemy Act and notify the US Congress that it plans to take North Korea off the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, triggering a 45-day evaluation period. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN