U.S. lists North Korea as terror sponsor
Tillerson acknowledges move as ‘very symbolic’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Monday the U.S. is putting North Korea’s “murderous regime” on America’s terrorism blacklist.
Trump said the designation as a state sponsor of terror was long overdue, and he promised a new wave of sanctions as part of a “maximum pressure campaign” over North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons that could soon pose a direct threat to the U.S. mainland.
North Korea will join Iran, Sudan and Syria on the blacklist. The North had been designated for two decades until 2008 when it was removed in a bid to salvage international talks aimed at halting its nuclear efforts. The talks collapsed soon after and haven’t been revived since.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the designation was a “very symbolic move” with limited practical effects although it could close a “few loopholes” in a tough sanctions regime that was starting to bite in Pyongyang. He said anecdotal evidence and intelligence suggests the North is suffering fuel shortages, with queues at gas stations, and its revenues are down.
Still, Tillerson also acknowledged a two-month pause in the North’s rapid tempo of nuclear and missile tests and said there remains hope for diplomacy. With tougher sanctions in the offing, he warned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, ‘This is only going to get worse until you’re ready to come and talk.”
There was strong bipartisan support for the move in Congress, which had passed legislation in August requiring the State Department to make a determination on the issue.