The decision by the United States to relist North Korea’s «murderous regime» as a state sponsor of terrorism hands Washington and Tokyo a symbolic victory,
The decision by the United States to relist North Korea’s “murderous regime” as a state sponsor of terrorism hands Washington and Tokyo a symbolic victory, but will do little to solve the nuclear crisis roiling the Korean Peninsula, experts say.
On Monday, U. S. President Donald Trump announced the designation, which he said “should have happened a long time ago,” and promised a fresh round of sanctions over the North’s nuclear weapons and missile programs.
It will join Iran, Sudan and Syria on the blacklist after close to a decade-long absence. Pyongyang was taken off the list in 2008 as part of an attempt to salvage international talks aimed at halting the North’s nuclear ambitions. The talks, which involved six countries including Japan, collapsed soon after and haven’t been revived since.
“In addition to threatening the world by nuclear devastation, North Korea has repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism, including assassinations on foreign soil,” Trump said in announcing the move.
The North has been blamed for the murder of leader Kim Jong Un’s half brother, who was killed in February with a suspected VX nerve agent in Malaysia, as well as the June death of U. S. college student Otto Warmbier, who had been detained by the regime.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a key supporter of Trump’s policy of “maximum pressure,” praised the decision Tuesday in Tokyo.
“We welcome and support the act as it is expected to raise the pressure on North Korea,” said Abe, who has long worked to address the issue of Japanese nationals kidnapped by North Korean agents in the 1970s and ’80s. Family members of the abductees also hailed the move, saying they hoped it could help resolve the issue.
But the re-listing is unlikely to translate to a meaningful — or even needed — political win for Abe.
Abe “is not in a defensive position, he doesn’t need a victory at this moment,” said Kuni Miyake, a former diplomat and current president of the Foreign Policy Institute in Tokyo who is known to be close to Abe.
“We are facing a much, much more serious external threat from the peninsula,” Miyake said. “Of course it’s great to see that North Korea is listed as a state sponsor of terrorism. We welcome that. But is it a political victory for Mr. Abe? No, that’s probably not the main point of this issue.”
Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera also lauded the designation, but warned that Kim’s regime would likely lash out “strongly” in response.
“We cannot deny that the North will resort to new provocative actions,” Onodera said.
