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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. declaring North Korea a state sponsor of terror (all times local):
8 p.m.
President Donald Trump has announced the U.S. is putting North Korea's "murderous regime" on America's terrorism blacklist, despite questions about Pyongyang's support for international attacks beyond the assassination of its leader's half-brother in February.
Trump says the designation as a state sponsor of terror is long overdue, and promises a new wave of sanctions as part of a "maximum pressure campaign" over North Korea's development of nuclear weapons.
North Korea will join Iran, Sudan and Syria on the blacklist. The North had been designated for two decades until 2008, when it was removed in a bid to salvage international talks aimed at halting its nuclear efforts. The talks collapsed soon after.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says the designation is a "very symbolic move" with limited practical effects.
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3:20 p.m.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says designating North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism is part of a push to continue "to turn the pressure up."
Tillerson addressed reporters at the White House on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. is putting North Korea on America's terrorism blacklist.
Tillerson says the message to leader Kim Jong Un is that "this is only going to get worse until you're ready to come and talk."
Tillerson noted that it had been about two months since the country tested a missile. He says, "We're hopeful this period will continue."
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11:45 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he intends to declare North Korea a state sponsor of terror.
Trump said Monday that the designation will impose further penalties on the country. He called it a long overdue step and part of the U.S. "maximum pressure campaign" against the North.
The move returns North Korea to the list of countries the U.S. views as state sponsors of terror for the first time since 2008. That's when the North was removed in a bid to salvage a deal to halt its nuclear development.
U.S. officials cited the killing of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's estranged half brother in a Malaysian airport this year as an act of terrorism.
North Korea would join Iran, Sudan and Syria on the list of state sponsors of terror.
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