File Photo: Soldiers attend a military parade in central Pyongyang, April 15, 2017. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) showcased its military muscles by parading all of its most-advanced ballistic and tactic missiles, including a submarine-launched ballistic missile which could strike targets 1000 km away. (Xinhua/Zhu Longchuan)

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- The White House said on Thursday that the United States was considering relisting the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) as a state sponsor of terrorism.

"That is an option that's under consideration," said U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster here at a briefing, adding that the decision would be part of the U.S. overall strategy on the DPRK.

The consideration came as U.S. President Donald Trump was set to start his five-nation official trip to Asia.

McMaster said that one of the major objectives of Trump's Asia trip was to strengthen international efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

Former U.S. President George W. Bush removed the DPRK from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism in 2008 in exchange for the DPRK's scaling back in its nuclear programs.