Trump to designate North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump announced Monday he plans to designate North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. “It should have happened a long time ago,” Trump said at the White House. North Korea has not had the designation since 2008, when President George W. Bush removed the nation from the list, which also includes Iran, Sudan, and Syria. The designation makes way for additional U.S. sanctions against North Korea. Trump cited North Korea’s repeated nuclear provocations and threats against the United States as justification for the designation. He also referred to Otto Warmbier, the U.S. college student who died earlier this year from injuries sustained in a North Korean prison. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in April the Trump administration was considering the terror designation. Trump’s announcement comes days after his return from a 12-day tour of Asia, where he met with world leaders to discuss trade deals and a strategy for dealing with North Korea. Trump said the Treasury Department would begin imposing the new sanctions against the rogue nation on Tuesday.