白宫国家安全顾问星期四表示，美国正在考虑把朝鲜列入支持恐怖主义国家名单。此举意味着对这个极权主义政府施加更多的财务和外交压力。
美国国务院星期四面临国会规定的最后期限，对几位联邦参议员要求把朝鲜重新列入支持恐怖主义国家名单做出回应。目前，这个名单上的国家只有伊朗、叙利亚和苏丹。
到星期四下午，美国国务院还没有宣布其决定，但是白宫国家安全顾问麦克马斯特将军表示，美国仍在考虑采取这一举措。
在考虑做出这一决定之际，川普总统准备启程对亚洲五国进行访问。预计访问期间朝鲜问题将是主要议题。
朝鲜特工炸毁一架韩国民航航班，导致115人丧生后，美国1988年曾将朝鲜列入支持恐怖国家名单。但是在平壤当局达到一项核裁军协议所规定的若干标准之后，美国在2008年将朝鲜挪出了这个名单。
此后不久，六方朝核谈判破裂，朝鲜宣布这项去核协议无效。自从那时起，朝鲜又实施了5次核试验，并坚持发展其弹道导弹项目，违反了联合国安理会的几项决议。
按照美国法律，只有当一个国家的政府“一再为国际恐怖主义行为提供支持”时，才能把它列入支恐名单。
虽然朝鲜当局被广泛认为是世界上对本国国民压制最深的政府之一，但是其参与国际恐怖主义的行为却不是很明显。
The United States is considering designating North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism, the White House national security adviser said Thursday, a move meant to put additional financial and diplomatic pressure on the totalitarian government.
The State Department faces a congressionally mandated Thursday deadline to respond to several U.S. senators’ request that North Korea be returned to the State Sponsors of Terrorism list. Currently, the only countries on the list are Iran, Syria and Sudan.
By Thursday afternoon, the State Department had not announced its decision, but White House National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster said the U.S. was still considering the move.
The decision comes as President Donald Trump prepares to leave for a five-nation tour of Asia, during which North Korea is expected to be a main focus.
The U.S. put North Korea on the terror sponsor list in 1988, after North Korean agents blew up a South Korean civilian airliner, killing 115 people. But Pyongyang was removed in 2008 after they met specific benchmarks related to a nuclear disarmament deal.
The six-party disarmament talks collapsed a short time later, and North Korea declared the nuclear deal void. It has since conducted five more nuclear tests and steadily ramped up its ballistic missile program, in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Under U.S. law, a government must have “repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism” in order to be included on the Sponsors of Terrorism list.
While North Korea is widely regarded as one of the most oppressive governments in the world with respect to its own people, its involvement with international terrorism is less prominent.