President Obama recently indicated that he will respond "proportionally" to North Korea's hacking attack on Sony Pictures. However, the isolated country is now threatening attacks if the president goes through with his plan.
According to Charlotte Alfred of the Huffington Post, a top North Korean defense committee, through the country's official Korean Central News Agency, issued a statement that threatened attacks on "the White House, the Pentagon and the whole U.S. mainland." It was issued in response to Obama's plan in figuring out how to punish the rogue regime.
"The army and people of the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] are fully ready to stand in confrontation with the U.S. in all war spaces including cyber warfare space to blow up those citadels," the statement said, which was attributed to North Korea's powerful National Defense Commission.
Alfred reported that the statement had no further details of the threatened attacks. However, North Korea had throughout its history issued ominous warnings to other countries.
According to Peter Walker of The Guardian, the vague but stern warnings came after Sony Pictures pulled the plug on releasing The Interview in theaters on Christmas Day after it faced heavy cyber-attacks and threats from the rogue regime. Pyongyang also claimed that the U.S. "recklessly" accused them of being responsible for the hacks.
"This stand is taken by the DPRK because the movie The Interview is an undesirable and reactionary one justifying and inciting terrorism which should not be allowed in any country and any region," the statement said.
The KCNA statement also called the plot of The Interview "vicious and dastardly" while accusing the United States of being "the cesspool of terrorism." According to The Guardian, The Interview, which stars Seth Rogen and James Franco, depicted two American TV personalities who are successfully recruited by the CIA, obtain access to Kim Jong-un and later kill him in a bloody scene.
"The movie is run through with a story agitating a vicious and dastardly method of assassinating a head of a legitimate sovereign state," the statement said.
The statement also praised the hackers for their efforts while simultaneously denying any links back to the North Korean government.
"We do not know who or where they are but we can surely say that they are supporters and sympathizers with [North Korea]," the statement said.
The Guardian reported that according to the FBI, the hacking infrastructure used in the attack had similar methods to previous malicious cyber activity that was previously traced back to North Korea. In its defense, the rogue regime denied that it hacks computers, saying that that claim was "based on obscure sci-tech data and false story."
Despite claims of denial, North Korea did not restrain itself expressing delight over the "tremendous losses" borne by Sony. According to the Huffington Post, the Sony attack could be one of the most expensive corporate attacks in history.
"One may say this is the due price incurred by wrong deed, the evil act of hurting others," the statement said.
