Tillerson: ‘We Felt It Necessary to Reimpose’ Terror Designation on N. Korea to Point out Its ‘Unlawful’ Behavior’

‘I think it’s really just the latest step in a series of, as you can see, ongoing steps to increase the pressure’

EXCERPT:

TILLERSON: "Some of you will know that North Korea was designated as a state sponsor of terrorism back in 1988. So they have been designated before. That designation was lifted in 2008 as part of an effort to negotiate with North Korea and end their nuclear program. That obviously failed because we can see where we are today. But as a result of the actions they've taken, including assassinations outside of their country, using banned chemical weapons, these are all very, very serious actions on their part that put the public at risk as well. So that along with a number of actions they have taken resulted in their designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. As Sarah indicated, the practical effect of it is we already have many of these actions in place through the current sanctions. It may though disrupt and dissuade some third parties from undertaking certain activities with North Korea as it does impose prohibition on a number of other activities that might not be covered by existing sanctions. But I think importantly, this is just continuing to point out North Korea’s illicit, unlawful behaviors internationally and we felt it necessary to reimpose the designation for that reason."

Video files
Full
Compact
Audio files
Full
Compact