U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the U.S. government has designated North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism in a move that will trigger additional economic sanctions against the rogue nation. This is the second time that North Korea has been listed as a state sponsor of terror, with its first designation coming in 1987. However, George W. Bush’s administration removed Pyongyang from the list in 2008 in exchange for progress in nuclear talks.
In an interview with The Cipher Brief, Dean Cheng, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said North Korea’s inclusion as a state sponsor of terror will have more of a political than economic impact, as the additional sanctions that accompany such a billing are not likely to significantly impact North Korea’s economy.
“In terms of actual economic terms, the impact will be limited, at best. It’s not as though the United States has created extensive economic ties to Pyongyang since removing North Korea from the list in 2008. Nor does the U.S. sell much in the way of dual-use items prohibited to State Sponsors of Terror.
But in political terms, I think it’s meaningful. North Korea, like other states, does not want to be associated with the term ‘terrorist’ or ‘terrorism.’ Just as North Korea wants to be recognized as a ‘nuclear weapons state,’ in the technical and legal sense, so, too, it does not want to be seen as a ‘terrorist’ state.”
While the designation of North Korea as a State Sponsor of Terror may not yield substantial economic hardship, the move may be intended to send a strong message to China, who has often been accused of aiding North Korea’s economy and military ambitions. Cheng said China’s take away will be “mixed.”
“This is, from the Chinese point of view, American ‘lawfare’ in action—the use of the law to achieve political ends. Again, as an economic tool, it is limited, unless it snares American businessmen working through China, with China, or as part of Chinese firms (I’m not aware of any such cases pending, however).
But as a political tool, I think it hits at the same kind of issue that it affects Pyongyang. Does Beijing want to be seen as cooperating with a ‘state sponsor of terrorism?’
If [Chinese President] Xi Jinping is going to push this idea that he’s some kind of champion of globalism, then he can ill afford being seen consorting with arguably the world’s most repugnant man.”
Ultimately, the Trump administration’s designation of North Korea as a State Sponsor of Terrorism appears to be part of a choreographed effort to tighten the noose of diplomatic actions to avoid a military confrontation. Since President Trump took office, Cheng said the U.S. has targeted Pyongyang.
“This does seem to be part of the broader array of measures, diplomatic but especially economic and financial, that this Administration is pursuing against North Korea.
Since January 20, it has effectively eliminated North Korea from the SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) network, it has imposed secondary sanctions on Chinese banks, as well as businesses and individuals, that do business with China, and it has pressed various governments to cut their links with North Korea.”
