A US House lawmaker has introduced a bill calling for relisting North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) brought in the legislation (H.R.479) that requires "a report on the designation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism." The bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday, according to congressional records.

The lawmaker introduced a similar bill in the previous House last year, saying Pyongyang meets the criteria for terror sponsor designation. That bill later passed through the Foreign Affairs Committee, but was ultimately scrapped as the House expired at the end of last year.

The new legislation, whose text was not available yet, is expected to be identical to the previous one.

Specifically, the bill required the president to review about 20 cases involving North Korea, including its 1987 bombing of a South Korean jetliner, and submit a report to Congress on whether they meet the requirements for terror sponsor designation or give a detailed justification as to why the cases do not meet the criteria for such a determination.