The decision by the United States to relist North Korea's "murderous regime" as a state sponsor of terrorism hands Washington and Tokyo a symbolic victory, but will do little to solve the nuclear crisis roiling the Korean Peninsula, experts say.

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the designation, which he said "should have happened a long time ago," and promised a fresh round of sanctions over the North's nuclear weapons and missile programs.

It will join Iran, Sudan and Syria on the blacklist after close to a decade-long absence. Pyongyang was taken off the list in 2008 as part of an attempt to salvage international talks aimed at halting the North's nuclear ambitions. The talks, which involved six countries including Japan, collapsed soon after and haven't been revived since.