The sinking of a South Korean warship widely blamed on North Korea was not an act of international terrorism and does not justify putting Pyongyang back on a U.S. blacklist, Reuters quoted the State Department as saying today. A South Korea-led investigation concluded a North Korean torpedo sank the Cheonan corvette on March 26, killing 46 South Korean sailors. Pyongyang has denied responsibility. The two countries technically remain at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty. "It is our judgment that the sinking of the Cheonan is not an act of international terrorism and by itself would not trigger placing North Korea on the U.S. state (sponsors) of terrorism list," said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley. "It was, in our view, a provocative action but one taken by the military of a state against the military of another state," the spokesman told reporters. "That, in our view, does not constitute an act of international terrorism." However, he said the United States continuously evaluates the matter and would not hesitate to put North Korea back on the list if it were found to have "repeatedly provided support for acts of terrorism." The United States dropped North Korea from the state sponsors list in October 2008 as part of an agreement under which North Korea was to disable its plutonium facility at Yongbyon as a step toward abandoning its nuclear programs. The broader aid-for-denuclearization deal has subsequently unraveled and North Korea conducted a second nuclear test in 2009, further raising questions about whether it will ever give up its atomic ambitions. Being dropped from the list removed some U.S. sanctions against North Korea but had little practical effect because Pyongyang remains subject to multiple, overlapping U.S. sanctions many of which remain in force.
