President Donald Trump, placed North Korea back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism. North Korea was removed from the list by President George W. Bush in 2008.Trump announced the move Monday during a public meeting with his Cabinet at the White House and said the Treasury Department will announce new sanctions against North Korea on Tuesday.
“Today the United States is designating North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. Should have happened a long time ago. Should have happened years ago,” Trump said.
The State Department’s current list of state sponsors of terrorism includes Iran, Sudan and Syria and functions as a sort of sanctions blacklist against countries that the U.S. has deemed “repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism.”
The Trump administration came under increasing pressure to return the country to the list after North Korea’s most recent nuclear test.
Trump also expressed his anger at the time over North Korea’s treatment of Warmbier and evoked his memory Monday in announcing his decision. The death of American Otto Warmbier in June after being imprisoned in the country.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe welcomed the move. The question of whether Trump would reinstall North Korea on the list hung over the President’s recent Asia trip.
Trump said new sanctions to be announced over the coming weeks, including Tuesday by the Treasury Department, will bring US sanctions against Pyongyang to their highest level ever.
Only three countries — Iran, Sudan and Syria — are currently labeled as state sponsors of terror by the United States.
This classification carries significant sanctions against the country’s ability to receive US foreign assistance and puts a ban on defense exports and sales. It also allows the United States to punish people or countries who trade with the designated countries.
At times the logistics of enforcing these sanctions is more difficult to implement.
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1 Comment
I am puzzled why Mr Trump appears to think that the President of the US has the right to criticise North Korea as an instigator of State sponsored Terror. Even if he never reads international newspapers and gets his serious news from Fox and Twitter I would have thought that virtually all serious students of international affairs would know that the US has a much more impressive record as a supporter of State terror.
Just to take a simple example it is relatively well known that torture is a standard technique of state sponsored terror and if you think about it 74% of Nations/ States involved in torture are US allies.
Now think back a few years and ask yourself why so many South American nations were supported by the US in their appalling record of crimes against human rights. Perhaps Mr Trump needs to be asked about why the US is continuing to supply weapons to nations yet fail to notice that the weapons are used to target civilians. It is easy enough to find which nation introduced Sarin to Middle East conflicts (and white phosphorus).
I would have thought destabilizing democratically elected governments by backing coups qualifies as using terror… but don’t forget that makes the US look bad in Iraq, Syria and Iran.
Has Mr Trump genuinely failed to notice the Extraordinary Rendition programme. When did North Korea join that programme? Tell the POTUS to check on Saudi Arabia using the US military assistance to kill civilians in Yemen. Look at the UN figures of civilian victims of the US led coalition in Syria. They actually exceed those identified as killed by ISIS. From time to time we read of US “accidental raids” on hospitals in Afghanistan, Syria and some of the lesser known battlefields in Africa. Some might call these acts of terror. By the way where are the equivalent acts of State sponsored terror carried out in the name of North Korea.
By all means nuke the agents of State sponsored terror if the President says it is called for … but do understand that the evidence suggests the US would be a more deserving target.