The United States has re-designated North Korea as a terrorist-harboring nation for the 17th consecutive year.

In its annual report on international terrorism Thursday, the U.S. State Department mentioned, for the first time, Pyongyang's abduction of Japanese nationals, as an additional reason for the designation.

North Korea was first placed on the U.S. list of terrorism-sponsoring states after the bombing of a Korean Airlines flight in 1987 that killed 115 people. The State Department said no act of terrorism is known to have been committed by the North since 1987, but accused Pyongyang of failing to take substantial steps to cooperate in efforts to combat international terrorism.

Other blacklisted nations include Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria.