Warship sinking does not ensure relisting NK as state terror sponsor

North Korea's torpedoing of a South Korean warship is a violation of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, but does not merit relisting North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, Yonhap News reported in Washington Monday.

"The sinking of the Cheonan is not an act of international terrorism and by itself would not trigger placing North Korea on the state sponsored terrorism list," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said. "It was a provocative action, but one taken by the military of a state against the military of another state. We believe the Cheonan was in fact a violation of the armistice."

Crowley was asked if Washington was considering putting North Korea back on the list, from which it was dropped in late 2008 under the Bush administration amid progress in the six-party talks on ending the North's nuclear weapons programs.

South Korea expressed understanding of the U.S. decision.

"It appears the U.S. government has conducted a legal review of related regulations so far," a foreign ministry official said on customary condition of anonymity. "We had also thought about relisting, but basically, terrorism is against civilians while the Cheonan incident was an armed attack on the military. They are a little different in nature."

The ship sinking is more serious than terrorism and poses threats to international peace and stability, and that is why South Korea brought the case to the U.N. Security Council, the official said.

An international probe concluded last month that a North Korean submarine torpedoed the Cheonan in the Yellow Sea in March, killing 46 sailors. North Korea denies involvement and has threatened war if condemned by the U.N. Security Council, where South Korea, the U.S. and their allies hope for a rebuke even if China and Russia remain lukewarm.

Crowley, however, said that the administration will continue to keep a close eye on North Korea for any terrorist acts.

"We continue to evaluate information that is consistently coming in to us regarding North Korean activities, and we will not hesitate to take action if we have information that North Korea has repeatedly provided support for acts of terrorism," he said. "We've sought meetings at various levels. And thus far they have not been set up. So that is an ongoing process."

North Korea was first put on the list after the downing of a Korean Air flight over Myanmar in 1987, which killed all 115 people onboard.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is believed to have been behind the incident as he was trying to consolidate his status as heir apparent to his father, then-North Korean leader Kim Il-sung. Kim Jong-il took power in 1994 when Kim Il-sung died of a heart attack.