File Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump arrives at the Capitol to deliver remarks about tax reform in Washington D.C. Nov 16, 2017. (Xinhua/Ting Shen)

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he intended to designate the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) as a state sponsor of terror.

Trump said the step is long overdue and part of the U.S. "maximum pressure campaign" against Pyongyang. White House officials previously blamed the Asian nation for killing a man in a Malaysia airport and murdering the U.S. citizen Otto Warmbier, both denied by Pyongyang.

The DPRK, which was removed from the list of state sponsors of terror in 2008, was expected to join again with Iran, Sudan and Syria.