Trump Returns North Korea to List of State Sponsors of Terrorism
The president said the designation will lead to new, tougher sanctions on North Korea, which he said "must end its unlawful nuclear
and ballistic missile development." Mr. Trump has vowed to seek "complete denuclearization" in North Korea and has threatened "fire and fury" aimed at the country if it endangers the United States.
North Korea was removed from the official State Department terror list nearly 20 years later by President George W. Bush, who in
2008 saw it as an opportunity to salvage a fragile nuclear deal in which North Korea would agree to halt its nuclear program.
Mr. Bolton, who argued in 2008 against removing North Korea from the terror list, said he
does not believe restoring the designation will bring Mr. Kim to the negotiating table.
John R. Bolton, a former State Department official
and United Nations ambassador under Mr. Bush, praised Mr. Trump for telling the truth about the nature of the regime in North Korea.
Since taking power after the death of his father Kim Jong-il in 2011, he has executed dozens of senior officials deemed not loyal enough, often killing them with antiaircraft machine guns, in what
South Korean officials called a "reign of terror." They said Mr. Kim probably considered Kim Jong-nam, his father’s firstborn, as his potential replacement should his regime lose control of power.