- In a Cabinet meeting on Monday morning, Trump called the state sponsor of terror designation ‘a very critical step’ that will ‘start right now’
- The president said new sanctions are on the way for the ‘murderous regime’ invoking Otto Warmbier, an American college student who died this year
- Warmbier returned to the U.S. in a coma after a year and a half in North Korean custody; he passed away days later
- Just three other nations are on the U.S. state sponsor of terror list: Iran, Sudan and Syria
President Donald Trump designated North Korea a state sponsor of terror on Monday, following through on his administration’s promises throughout his trip to Asia to make a decision soon.
In a Cabinet meeting, Trump called the designation ‘a very critical step’ that he said will ‘start right now.’
‘Should have happened a long time ago. Should have happened years ago,’ Trump said.
The president said new sanctions are on the way for the ‘murderous regime’ invoking Otto Warmbier, an American college student who died days after his return to the U.S. from North Korea earlier this year.
President Donald Trump designated North Korea a state sponsor of terror on Monday, following through on his administration’s promises throughout this trip to Asia to make a decision soon
North Korea said last week that it has no intention of ending its nuclear program
Warmbier was taken into custody in North Korea in January of 2016 after he yanked down a propaganda poster, authorities with Kim Jong-un’s government have said.
The 22-year-old college student was in coma when he was released. He passed away less than a week later in his home state of Ohio from an ‘undetermined’ cause of death that a coroner’s report tied to an oxygen deprivation injury a year prior.
Trump said Monday that North Korea ‘must end its unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile development.’
The president made the announcement during a Cabinet meeting. His spokeswoman confirmed the designation just after he made the remarks in front of reporters.
Remarking on his ‘historic’ trip to Asia, where he pushed for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Trump said, ‘People are respecting our country again, believe me.’
‘We will be instituting a very critical step, and that’ll start right now,’ he said.
North Korea said last week that it has no intention of ending its nuclear program.
‘As long as there is continuous hostile policy against my country by the US and as long as there are continued war games at our doorstep, then there will not be negotiations,’ North Korea’s Ambassador to the United Nations Han Tae-song said. ‘Our country plans ultimate completion of the nuclear force.’