Friday (March 17), U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R- Texas, pictured) announced he was going to introduce legislation to re-list North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Senator Cruz's legislation is companion legislation to H.R. 479 sponsored by Rep. Ted Poe (R- Texas) in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Senator Cruz said, “The United States de-listed North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism in exchange for guarantees to give up its nuclear program. The result of this deal was a disaster: Kim Jong-un oversaw two nuclear tests and over twenty ballistic missile tests last year alone, and has persisted in utilizing terror as an instrument of state policy.”

According to Senator Cruz's office he first called for re-listing North Korea in a letter to President Barack Obama in February 2016 and also wrote a letter with fellow senators requesting Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to investigate the matter. Cruz also introduced legislation calling for the designation of the Iran Revolutionary Guard and Muslim Brotherhood as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

According to Senator Cruz, since being removed in 2008, North Korea has:

  • Enlisted the assassination of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un’s own half-brother out of the country.
  • Conducted a cyber-attack against Sony Pictures in 2014, threatening 9-11 attacks against U.S. theaters that showed “The Interview”.
  • Jammed GPS signals affecting hundreds of civilian airliners flying in and out of South Korea.

Representative Ted Poe said, “North Korea is a terror state that has launched cyber-attacks on U.S. companies, sold weapons to terrorist groups, murdered hundreds of innocent people, both within North Korea and abroad, whom are viewed as a threat to the regime. Time and again this dangerous regime has proven to be a real threat to both the United States and our allies. That is why we must take this threat seriously and designate Pyongyang a State Sponsor of Terrorism.”

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