The Latest on the U. S. declaring North Korea a state sponsor of terror (all times local):<\/b>
\nWASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on the U. S. declaring North Korea a state sponsor of terror (all times local):
3:20 p.m.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says designating North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism is part of a push to continue \u201cto turn the pressure up.\u201d
Tillerson addressed reporters at the White House on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that the U. S. is putting North Korea on America\u2019s terrorism blacklist.
Tillerson says the message to leader Kim Jong Un is that \u201cthis is only going to get worse until you\u2019re ready to come and talk.\u201d
Tillerson noted that it had been about two months since the country tested a missile. He says, \u201cWe\u2019re hopeful this period will continue.\u201d
___
11:45 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he intends to declare North Korea a state sponsor of terror.
Trump said Monday that the designation will impose further penalties on the country. He called it a long overdue step and part of the U. S. \u201cmaximum pressure campaign\u201d against the North.
The move returns North Korea to the list of countries the U. S. views as state sponsors of terror for the first time since 2008. That\u2019s when the North was removed in a bid to salvage a deal to halt its nuclear development.
U. S. officials cited the killing of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un\u2019s estranged half brother in a Malaysian airport this year as an act of terrorism.
North Korea would join Iran, Sudan and Syria on the list of state sponsors of terror.<\/p>\n