US President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice approved a controversial measure to remove the nation of North Korea from the official terrorism blacklist, the so called “axis of evil” last weekend after Korea agreed to verification inspection procedures for its nuclear plants. In exchange, North Korea will resume disabling its Yongbyon atomic complex.

According to U.S. removes N. Korea from terror list, the decision is not universally accepted:

Removing North Korea from the list was immediately criticized by some conservatives who said it goes too far and sends a bad signal to other U.S. adversaries, notably Iran. Hill, a lightning rod for conservative criticism on the issue, was noticeably absent at the State Department announcement.

Critics pilloried the development because they said it is not adequate to address its involvement in spreading nuclear weapons technology or its alleged uranium enrichment activities.

“By rewarding North Korea before the regime has carried out its commitments, we are encouraging this regime to continue its illicit nuclear program and violate its pledge to no longer provide nuclear assistance to extremist regimes,” said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Still remaining in the “axis of evil” are Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Libya, and Syria. The only question is if this classification actually accomplishes any good, besides denying modernization to nations which so desperately need it.