The U.S. says North Korea’s sinking of South Korea’s “Cheonan” warship does not merit the placing of North Korea back on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said Monday that the sinking of the ship was not an act of international terrorism and by itself would not trigger placing North Korea on the state sponsors of terrorism list.

Crowley said that although the sinking was a provocative action, it was carried out by the military of a state against the military of another state.

He said, rather, that the Cheonan incident was a violation of the existing armistice between South and North Korea.