U.S. President Barack Obama says he will keep North Korea off the U.S. government's list of states that sponsor terrorism, despite some calls from Congress for the North to be put back on.

In a letter to Democratic leaders, Obama confirmed Wednesday that North Korea "does not meet the statutory criteria to again be designated as a state sponsor of terrorism."

The former administration of President George W. Bush took Pyongyang off the list of state sponsors of terrorism in return for progress on declaring the extent of its nuclear activities in October 2008.

However, there are some voices in Congress calling for the North's redesignation following Pyongyang’s conducting of nuclear and missile tests last year.