The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama is being urged to put North Korea back on the list of terrorism sponsors in response to the sinking of South Korea’s Cheonan naval vessel.

The Washington Post (WP) said in an editorial Friday that President Lee Myung-bak will ask the U.N. Security Council to consider a new set of sanctions against Kim Jong-il’s regime in regards to the incident.
However, the editorial said that in the absence of U.N. action, the Obama administration could place North Korea back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

The editorial stressed that such action by the State Department would be justified not only because of the North’s alleged clandestine attack on the ship but also due to Pyongyang's suspected export of weapons to Hamas and Hezbollah.

The editorial said that North Korea’s regime must convey the message that provocations, whether they be torpedo attacks or nuclear tests, will bring punishments and not rewards from the United States and its allies.