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US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks at a briefing at the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington DC on Apr. 19 in which he mentioned possibly redesignating North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. (AP/Yonhap News)

The US is reviewing the option of redesignating North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. This is being taken as a signal that the US intends to raise pressure on Pyongyang to the highest possible level.

“We’re reviewing all of the status of North Korea, both in terms of state sponsorship of terrorism as well as all the other ways in which we can bring pressure to bear on the regime in Pyongyang to reengage,” said US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a briefing on Apr. 19 designed to explain the US’s review of its policy toward Iran.

This reengagement would be “on a different footing than the past talks have been held,” Tillerson said, adding that the US was “evaluating all of those options.”

Tillerson’s remarks are being taken to mean that the Trump administration intends to exploit the possibility of redesignating North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism as a way of pressuring the North as part of its North Korean policy framework of “maximum pressure and engagement.” Tillerson’s reference to the phrase “reengage” clearly shows that the object of this pressure is to bring Pyongyang to the negotiating table.

On Apr. 3, the US House of Representatives held a vote on the North Korea State Sponsor of Terrorism Designation Act of 2017 (H.R. 479), and the bill passed by an overwhelming margin of 394 in favor and 1 opposed (with 34 abstaining). The bill passed by the House includes the killing of Kim Jong-nam (half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un) as an additional reason for redesigning the North a state sponsor of terrorism. If the bill passes the Senate, the US Secretary of State will have 90 days to report to the relevant committees in Congress about whether North Korea has been once again designated as a state sponsor of terrorism.

“Since North Korea is already under numerous sanctions, including sanctions by the UN Security Council, the economic fallout impact of being redesignated a state sponsor of terrorism would be minimal. But this could put some psychological pressure on Kim Jong-un, who pays a lot of attention to North Korea’s image overseas,” said a South Korean government official.

“If North Korea carries out an additional provocation with a nuclear weapon or missile, the US could increase the level of pressure on the North by redesigning it as a state sponsor of terrorism. On the other hand, if North Korea and the US move into a negotiating phase, the US could also use the possibility of removing state sponsor of terrorism designation as a bargaining chip,” the official added.

The US State Department designated North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism the year after the bombing of a Korean Air passenger jet in 1987. The North was removed from the list by the George W. Bush administration in 2008, after North Korea demolished the cooling tower at the Yongbyon nuclear facility and agreed to allow inspections of its nuclear program. The US imposes a number of sanctions to countries it has designated as state sponsors of terrorism, such as banning arms sales, investment in trade and foreign aid.

By Jung In-hwan, staff reporter

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