Sen. Rob Portman (R., Ohio) urged the State Department to redesignate North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism during a Senate Foreign Relations committee hearing concerning United States strategy toward the regime.
The designation was removed in 2008 when North Korea agreed to shut down its plutonium factories. The agreement was not kept. Relabeling the state as a sponsor of terrorism would increase the pressure the United States has been putting on North Korea since the death of University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier and the successful July 4 ballistic missile test, Portman said.
“North Korea’s record with sharing dangerous nuclear technology with state sponsors of terrorism, including Iran and Syria continues to pose a serious threat not just to the U.S. but to the security environment in East Asia and elsewhere,” he said.
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