Anchor: The U.S. has designated North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, placing the regime back on the list after nine years. Following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of the move, his secretary of state said Washington still hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the North Korean nuclear crisis.
Kim Bum-soo has the details.
 
Report: The U.S. has put North Korea back on its list of state sponsors of terrorism. 

[Sound bite: U.S. President Donald Trump]
“Today the United States is designating North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. Should have happened a long time ago.Should have happened years ago."

North Korea was removed from the U.S. blacklist in 2008 as Pyongyang agreed to move toward denuclearization.

Announcing his decision at the White House on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump  
said North Korea has repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism including assassinations on foreign soil.

[Sound bite: U.S. President Donald Trump]
"This designation will impose further sanctions and penalties on North Korea and related persons and supports our maximum pressure campaign to isolate the murderous regime that you've all been reading about and in some cases writing about."

Trump was initially expected to announce the designation late last month but waited until a Chinese special envoy returned from his trip to North Korea.

Trump on his Twitter said that the envoy's visit to Pyongyang was a "big move." However, the Chinese official appears to have returned home without a chance to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Trump said that the Treasury Department will announce new sanctions against North Korea on Tuesday, noting that the move will bring U.S. sanctions against Pyongyang to the "highest level ever." 
 
In a briefing at the White House following Trump's announcement, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Washington still hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the North Korean nuclear crisis. 

[Sound bite: U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson]
"No, we still hope for diplomacy and this is, the timing of this is just one of us concluding the process."
"Again, this is all part of just continuing to turn this pressure up and we continue to turn the pressure up on North Korea by getting other countries to join and take actions on their own."
 
He said the message to Kim Jong-un is that pressure against the North will get worse unless he gets ready to come and talk.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News. 

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