According to a State Department report, the US has kept North Korea on its list of state sponsors of terrorism.
North Korea has been on the list of state supporters of terrorism since 2017, when North Korean agents used chemical agents in Malaysia to assassinate leader Kim Jong-half un’s brother, Kim Jong-nam, as per Yonhap News Agency.
“The Secretary of State determined in 2017 that the DPRK( Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ) had repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism since its State Sponsor of Terrorism designation was rescinded in 2008,” according to the report, Country Reports on Terrorism, which was released on Thursday. The North was first designated as a state sponsor of terrorism in 1988 for its role in the tragic bombing of a South Korean passenger jet the year before.
“The DPRK has also failed to address historical support for acts of international terrorism,” the report said, explaining why North Korea is still on the list, which also includes Iran and Syria. Despite the fact that the North has not been directly involved in terrorist attacks in recent years, a State Department official said the country’s behaviour is still troubling.
“North Korea’s behaviour in a lot of areas, I believe, remains troublesome and alarming, and that’s part of the reason they’ve remained on the list,” acting counter-terrorism coordinator John Godfrey told reporters on Thursday.
According to the report, which is submitted to Congress every year, North Korea continues to provide safe haven to four Japanese Red Army members wanted by the Japanese government for their role in the March 31, 1970 Japan Airlines hijacking.
“The Japanese government also continues to seek a thorough accounting of the fate of several Japanese individuals alleged to have been abducted by DPRK state entities in the 1970s and 1980s,” according to the study, adding that just five of these abductees have been repatriated to Japan since 2002.
According to the source , the US provides up to $5 million in prizes for information leading to the disruption of financial mechanisms of any person or business that helps the North Korean government’s criminal actions.
