Civic Register
| 11.21.17

Trump Designates North Korea State Sponsor of Terrorism, Imposes New Sanctions

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What’s the story?

One day after President Donald Trump designated North Korea a state sponsor of terror, the Treasury Department announced new sanctions against the rogue nation.

Calling North Korea a "murderous regime," Trump opened his Cabinet meeting on Monday saying:

"Today the United States is designating North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. Should have happened a long time ago. Should have happened years ago."

With this designation, North Korea joins only three other countries on the state-sponsor list: Iran, Sudan, and Syria. North Korea had been on the State Department list for 20 years until President George W. Bush removed it in 2008, "hoping the gesture would cement a tentative deal which, at the time, was meant to see some fresh aid flow to Pyongyang," wrote The Independent.

On Tuesday, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed new sanctions on a plethora of North Korean shipping firms and Chinese trading companies.

"These designations include companies that have engaged in trade with North Korea cumulatively worth hundreds of millions of dollars," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. "We are also sanctioning the shipping and transportation companies, and their vessels, that facilitate North Korea's trade and its deceptive maneuvers."

Why does it matter?

Over the summer, North Korea conducted a number of missile tests that resulted in President Trump threatening to respond with "fire and fury" and the DPRK warning it would “turn the US mainland into the theater of a nuclear war.”

In September, following Pyongyang’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test, Trump signed an executive order giving the Treasury department the authority to suspend U.S. account access for foreign banks that knowingly facilitate significant trade transactions with North Korea. The EO also allowed the Treasury department to sanction individuals and companies involved in the construction, energy, financial services, information technology, manufacturing, medical, mining, textiles, or transportation industries in North Korea.

The Treasury department imposed sanctions on eight North Korean banks and 26 individuals.

In October, the House passed – by a near unanimous vote – a bill that would sanction foreign banks that handle transactions involving North Korea.

On his recent Asia tour, Trump directly addressed the regime to the North. Standing before South Korea’s National Assembly, the president said:

"Today, I hope I speak not only for our countries but for all civilized nations, when I say to the North: 'Do not underestimate us. Do not try us. We will defend our common security, our shared prosperity, and our sacred liberty."

However, Trump said a deal between the two nations was still possible, telling Kim, "despite every crime you've committed… we will offer you a path for a better future."

Officials in Pyongyang rejected the potential deal, telling CNN: "we don't care about what that mad dog may utter because we've already heard enough."

Two weeks later, the Trump administration seemed to have also "heard enough."

During Monday’s Cabinet meeting, Trump said that "in addition to threatening the world with nuclear devastation," Pyongyang had sponsored terror on foreign soil. North Korea, he said, “must end its unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile development, and cease all support for international terrorism – which it is not doing.”

The move is largely symbolic. As the L.A. Times wrote, "Most of the punishments that Washington could mete out under the state sponsor of terrorism legislation are already in place against North Korea, or are irrelevant since they would involve suspending aid programs that don’t exist."

What do you think?

Are additional sanctions against North Korea the way to go? Should Trump return to his "fire and fury" threats? Should the U.S. pressure other countries to impose additional sanctions on the regime? Hit Take Action, tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

— Josh Herman

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(Photo Credit: Roman Harak / Creative Commons)