SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) — Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to put North Korea back on a list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday (November 21) in Sydney, Turnbull said that Kim Jong Un was running a global criminal operation from North Korea and threatened the stability of the region.
“We strongly welcome the decision of President Trump to declare North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism. Kim Jong Un runs a global criminal operation from North Korea, peddling arms, peddling drugs, engaged in cybercrime, and, of course, threatening the stability of the region with his nuclear weapons. So, we strongly welcome that decision, and it mirrors the determination of the international community on bringing North Korea back to its senses, that we saw in Manila and Danang recently,” Turnbull said.
The designation, announced on Monday (November 20) allows the United States to impose more sanctions on Pyongyang, which is pursuing nuclear weapons and missile programs in defiance of U.N. Security Council sanctions.