The United States may have made some progress in its relations with North Korea by removing that country from a list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Did the North deserve to be removed? It did agree to further disable a plutonium plant and allow some inspections to verify it had stopped a nuclear program as promised some months ago.

But the impetus for movement might have been President Bush's sense that the agreement with the secretive communist nation was slipping away. The six-country talks also involving Russia, China, Japan and South Korea has been a long process.

The president may have wanted to salvage something from the effort. Indeed Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee for president, questioned whether North Korea has shown a serious commitment to denuclearize. His Democratic opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, said the deal was "a modest step forward."

Of course, the goal is to have North Korea halt its efforts to make nuclear weapons. Democrats have suggested that the latest agreement does not advance far beyond President Bill Clinton's pact with North Korea in 1994.

Yet the North has agreed to a verification plan that would let U.S. inspectors access its main nuclear facility at Yongbyon. Pyongyang has not agreed, however, to allow inspectors to examine other facilities — a key step.

If inspectors suspect nuclear weapons production at other sites, they may visit them only "based on mutual consent" with North Korea.

The Bush administration has hinted that this may be the best deal available at this time. Hence, one of the "axis of evil" will no longer be called a sponsor of terrorism.

North Korea remains a difficult and complex adversary.