North Korea rips US terror designation

North Korea on Tuesday ripped the U.S. redesignation of the country as a sponsor of terrorism, calling it a “hostile policy.”

The country’s foreign ministry said in a Tuesday statement that the State Department’s terrorism blacklist report, which was released last week, shows that the U.S. has a “hostile policy” toward Pyongyang, according to The Associated Press. 

“This is an insult to and perfidy against a dialogue partner,” said a statement that ran in state media, according to the AP. “The channel of the dialogue between [North Korea] and the U.S. is more and more narrowing.” {mosads}

North Korea was on the blacklist for about 20 years after the 1987 bombing of a South Korean aircraft that was blamed on its agents, according to the AP. It was removed from the terror list in 2008 but President Trump added the country back to the list in 2017. 

Last week, the nation launched two short-range projectiles into the Sea of Japan, its 12th missile test since May. 

Nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang collapsed in February, although the AP reported that South Korea’s spy agency told the South’s lawmakers Monday that renewed talks are expected by early December.