United States will ‘pay dearly’ if it again puts North Korea on its terror list, Pyongyang warns

North Korea warned on Saturday that the US will “pay dearly” if it re-lists Pyongyang as a state sponsor of terrorism following the murder of leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother in Malaysia last month.

Seoul has said from the start that the isolated North is behind the cold war-style assassination.

South Korean and Japanese media, citing diplomatic sources, have since reported that the US has been mulling placing the North back on its terror list, which includes Iran and Syria.

“The US will keenly realise how dearly it has to pay for its groundless accusations against the dignified” North if it re-lists it, the regime’s foreign ministry spokesman told state-run newswire KCNA.

The spokesman maintained that Pyongyang opposed “all forms of terrorism” and accused the US of trying to tarnish its reputation. “Gone are the days when the US could stigmatise at random to oppress those countries incurring its displeasure, while having the world under its control,” the official added.