U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday extended existing U.S. sanctions on North Korea for another year, citing the continued "unusual and extraordinary" threat posed by the regime.

The extension comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea blew up the inter-Korean liaison office and threatened to redeploy troops to the Mount Geumgang tourism zone and the Gaeseong Industrial Complex.  

In a notice sent to Congress, Trump said he is continuing the national emergency with respect to North Korea that was first declared on June 26, 2008, by Executive Order 13466. 

The executive order, which has been extended four times under the Trump administration, calls for sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Trump said in the notice that the existence and risk of proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material on the Korean Peninsula and the actions and policies of the North Korean government continue to pose an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to the national security, foreign policy and economy of the United States.