Trump says US will 'decide soon' on relisting N. Korea as terrorism sponsor
TOKYO -- US President Donald Trump said Sunday that Washington will "decide soon" whether to relist North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Trump made the remark on Air Force One on his way to Japan to kick off his Asian trip, which will later take him to South Korea and China. During his three-day visit to Japan, Trump will meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the two will likely reaffirm their stance of applying pressure on Pyongyang.
Trump arrives in Asia at a time of heightened tensions, caused by the North's sixth and most powerful nuclear blast test in September and a series of ballistic missile launches.
Last Thursday, H.R. McMaster, national security adviser to Trump, also said the US is considering relisting North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, since the North appeared to fit the criteria for designation following its alleged murder of leader Kim Jong-un's half-brother early this year.
Under a law enacted Aug. 2, the State Department had to determine within 90 days, or around last Thursday, whether North Korea should be back on the list.
North Korea was placed on the list in 1988 for an airliner bombing that killed all 115 people aboard. In 2008, it was taken off in exchange for progress in denuclearization talks.
The US left North Korea off its latest list of state sponsors of terrorism in July.
State sponsors of terrorism face restrictions on US foreign assistance, a ban on defense exports and sales, and financial and other sanctions. But relisting North Korea is largely seen as symbolic because it is already under extensive sanctions for its nuclear and missile programs.
On Sunday, Trump also defined North Korea as "a big problem,"
and added the North will figure prominently in talks in Japan, South Korea and China.
"(North Korea) is a big problem for our country and for the world, and we want to get it solved," Trump was quoted as saying by AFP.
The president, however, praised North Korean people as "great"
and "industrious."
"They're warm, much warmer than the world really knows or understands," he said. "They're great people. And I hope it all works out for everybody."
But Trump defended his tough rhetoric on North Korea, which he'd previously threatened to "totally destroy."
Without giving further details, Trump told reporters on Air Force One, "There's been 25 years of total weakness and so we're taking a very much different approach."
Then to US troops at Yokota Air Base, on the outskirts of Tokyo, Trump said, "No one, no dictator, no regime... should underestimate American resolve."
North Korea may well take provocative action with Trump in the region. Asked about such a possibility, Trump said, "We'll soon find out." (Yonhap)
相关文章
高燃!哨响表停赛不止,2024广东“村BA”开赛在即,一分钟带你重温高光瞬间。
- “长征万里险,最忆夹金山。”西部绿如墨,绍兴向雅安。昨7)日,一份来自长江三角洲南翼浙江绍兴的特别信件让雅安的媒体工作者们感动、感慨——本报讯 昨7)日,一份特别的信件,一摞10月28日《绍兴晚报》“2024-09-22
Chance the Rapper is donating millions to Chicago public schools—and is asking for your help, too
Chance the Rapper may have just won three Grammys, but that doesn't mean it's time to kick back and2024-09-22Chance the Rapper is donating millions to Chicago public schools—and is asking for your help, too
Chance the Rapper may have just won three Grammys, but that doesn't mean it's time to kick back and2024-09-22Yoon touts pension reform drive amid stagnant popularity rating
President Yoon Suk Yeol takes reporters' questions during a news conference after a state affai2024-09-22Troubled Juventus docked 15 points
TURIN:Juventus' troubled start to the new year slipped into disaster on Friday after the Italian2024-09-22
最新评论