U.S. President Joe Biden has decided to continue the national emergency with respect to North Korea.

In a message to Congress on Monday, Biden said he made the decision to extend the status, citing the existence and risk of the proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material on the Korean Peninsula.

He also noted that provocative, destabilizing, and repressive actions and policies of North Korea continue to constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.

Citing those reasons, Biden said that he has determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency with respect to the North.

The U.S. first declared the national emergency relating to North Korea in 2008 and has continued the designation every year since.