By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
The U.S. on Friday imposed new sanctions on North Korea in response to a cyber attacks in November that Washington blames on Pyongyang.
The sanctions, authorized by an executive order from President Barack Obama, target three North Korean entities and 10 individuals.
They include North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau, which the Treasury Department said is the country's primary intelligence organization and is responsible for many of its major cyber attacks, Korea Tangun Trading Corporation, an entity responsible for defense commodity and technology procurement, and North Korea’s primary arms dealer, KOMID.
The 10 individuals either work for the entities or directly for the North Korean government.
“The order is not targeted at the people of North Korea, but rather is aimed at the government of North Korea and its activities that threaten the United States and others,” Obama said in a letter to congressional leaders.
Sony Pictures Entertainment was the target of a cyber attack in the run-up to the release of a controversial film depicting the assassination of North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un. The hack was followed by threats of 9/11-style attacks on movie theaters that screened the movie.
The FBI laid the blame for the attack squarely with the Hermit Kingdom following an investigation into the incident.
North Korea has denied involvement in the attack.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the actions are just the “first aspects” of Washington’s response to the attack.
“We take seriously North Korea’s attack that aimed to create destructive financial effects on a U.S. company and to threaten artists and other individuals with the goal of restricting their right to free expression,” he added.
The Obama administration vowed a proportional response to the hack.
