State Sponsor of Terror

[Anchor Lead]

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced plans to re-designate North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, which will trigger new sanctions on the regime. Trump is seen to be ratcheting up the pressure on Pyongyang following the Chinese envoy’s recent trip.

[Pkg]

U.S. President Donald Trump announced his intent to re-designate North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism at a White House Cabinet meeting. The re-designation comes nine years after North Korea was removed from the blacklist in 2008, following its agreement to nuclear verification.

[Soundbite] Donald Trump (U.S. President)

Trump added that the U.S. Department of the Treasury will announce additional sanctions on the North, which he said will be the toughest-ever.

[Soundbite] Donald Trump (U.S. President)

The U.S. president hinted at the possibility of negotiations with North Korea during his recent Asia tour. He postponed the announcement of the re-designation until a Chinese envoy returned from a visit to North Korea. It appears that Trump announced the re-designation and his determination to step up pressure on Pyongyang after concluding that the Chinese envoy returned home without achieving tangible results. There are concerns that the re-designation could cause North Korea to reignite provocations in protest. The South Korean government asked Washington in prior consultations to clarify that the re-designation would be one way to pressure North Korea to return to the negotiating table. U.S. State Secretary Rex Tillerson said that the U.S.is still hoping for a diplomatic solution and that the re-designation is a symbolic measure of Washington's push to turn the pressure up.