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NORTH KOREA HAS lashed out at fresh sanctions imposed by the United States in retaliation for its alleged cyber attack on Sony Pictures, criticising Washington for refusing a proposed joint investigation.
US President Barack Obama last week authorised a new layer of sanctions on several Pyongyang institutions and officials, in the wake of the crippling hacking attack on the Hollywood movie studio.
US investigators have said the North was behind the attack in November, but some experts have raised doubts about the conclusions of the FBI probe.
The North repeatedly denied involvement and demanded a joint investigation into the attack — a proposal the US has ignored.
The North’s foreign ministry said Washington’s rejection of the proposal revealed its “guilty conscience”. It said the US was using the attack to further isolate the North in the international community.
“The persistent and unilateral action taken by the White House to slap ‘sanctions’… patently proves that it is still not away from inveterate repugnancy and hostility toward the (North),” the ministry spokesman told the state-run KCNA news agency.
The impoverished but nuclear-armed state is already heavily sanctioned following a series of nuclear and missile tests staged in violation of UN resolutions.
The spokesman also said the new sanctions would further push the North to strengthen its military-first policy known as Songgun.
Hacking
The cyber attack on Sony’s computers in late November led to the release over the Internet of information on employees and unreleased films, as well as embarrassing in-house emails.
The hackers also mounted threats against Sony over the planned Christmas release of the comedy film “The Interview,” which depicts a fictional CIA plot to assassinate the North’s leader Kim Jong-Un.
Pyongyang, which repeatedly slammed the movie as an “act of terror,” earlier praised the hacking attacks as a “righteous deed” possibly staged by its sympathisers but denied involvement.
Following the Sony attack the isolated country last month suffered several mysterious internet outages.
Obama warned of retaliation against Pyongyang for the alleged hacking, but his administration denied comment on whether it was linked to the outages.
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Weren’t so quick to sanction their Israeli lapdogs after killing children, even vetoed the recent UN resolution for them. No one believes the Americans anymore
Thats cause their war mongering scambags every country they go into is either full of oil or gold and they suck it dry and move on only for iran china and Russia they would have done the same to Syria
They are doing the exact same in Syria and no doubt Iran will be next on the cards.
If anyone thinks that the US is in Syria on a mission to fight ISIS they are seriously deluded .
How come I can comment on every article on the journal except the pnes about prince Andrew I see a bit of censorship going on
Ruling elite …. We have no say !!
I sent a mail asking why we couldn’t comment on that story. I was told because it’s an ongoing legal case.. I still call bullsh*t though, the Royal Family’s connections to child sex rings is not something they want exposed
It’s a policy at the journal that you cannot comment on ongoing legal matters. It makes sense to me.
I wonder what mr Icke has to say about it.
So we can’t comment on on going cases does that go for every case??
I have seen plenty of comment sections open for on going cases on the journal. They only follow this rule when it suits them!!
But hold on . .. This is a case in a different county in fairness.
We were able to comment on the Oscar trial while it was ongoing
I’m doubting their involvement myself
Not a chance, this was an insider attack on Sony, the movie was made the reason a long time after the attacks started. How quickly the finger was pointed, despite anyone with a passing knowledge of IT reckoning it was possible.
Do you have proof to support this or are you just guessing?
Stephen, do America have proof to support their assumption or are they just guessing? No they know full well it wasn’t North Korea. They don’t have the capability of hacking Sony.
Kevin how can you be so categoric in your knowledge that North Korea can’t hack Sony? I assume you have proof – seeing as you are demanding it of other folk…
Pretty sure they’re just giving an opinion Stephen. Hence the reason for the comment section
@kevin..you and Ronan seem to be so sure that it wasn’t North Korea in your comments so I am asking you what proof you have. I’ve already read what the U.S. said
U.S. suspects North Korea had help attacking Sony Pictures
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/12/30/northkorea-cyberattack-idINKBN0K71FN20141230
North Korea has dozens of engineers trained in China and Europe who are very capable of hacking Sony.
Course they can’t they have no server’s of their own they use chinas so it would have been the Chinese that got the blame think about it!
Are you asking me or the FBI?
I tried thinking about it, but it hurt my brain. Why do they need server’s (sic) and why don’t they have any?
@Stephen have you seen proof from the FBI? This country has been vilified and it’s usually it’s poorest and most vulnerable who end up suffering. http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30554444
North Korea had nothing to do with this. This was done as yet another pretext for war.
http://m.tmz.com/#Article/2014/12/30/sony-pictures-studios-hack-inside-the-interview-north-korea
Cause they have nothing china accounts for nearly 80% of the food in north Korea if china cut them off they would starve! They don’t have the technology they have no access to satellites only the ones china give them access to!
USA really do what they like .. I’m wondering who the real terrorists are
They only have to look at themselves in a mirror.
http://loganstatta.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/addtext_com_mtyyota5mjmzmtq0.jpg
It takes a cyber hack and a dodgy movie to impose sanctions but hundreds of thousands of human beings in camps and probably the worst human rights record didn’t warrant it.
No atticus they’ve been sanctioning nk for some time – they’ve merely added to the list.
http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Pages/nkorea.aspx
Proof please Uncle Sam
“Why cant we all just….get along”
The usual ant-US anti-UK pro-SF/IRA brigade posting here.
I the game is up for America people don’t believe them anymore.
Imperialist warmongers look at the damage they have done to the world over the last 20 years.
They sponsor terrorists when it suits them.
Gary you can’t blame the American people for their government s actions
Tea bag, you talk utter rubbish.
Oh, the irony……
Frank… Pot, Kettle, Black?
Tap Solny, i am far from pro SF or IRA or anti USA or UK. I am a fan of facts. Fact is north Korea didn’t actually do anything re the hacking. It has been proven to be an inside job. So while there are plenty of reasons to punish Kim Jong un or whatever this is not a real one. The US president had no reason to get involved with this. You dont see him blasting those lizard squad eejits over their hacking do you? Any leader of any country should not support any “comedy” that depicts the assassination of another leader, they shouldnt get involved, a less than mediocre film should be of zero concern. If north Korea released a “comedy” about the assassination of Barack Obama it would be deemed an act of terrorism, simple as.
Speak Up, the fact is that your facts are not in effect a fact, now that is a fact. It is also a fact that you do not understand what a fact is.
The usual Tap Solney response to what is a present response to a questionable response to an alleged response.
Of course they are. No involvement with the hacking yet fresh new sanctions as a result by a criminal country that is the US.
So you’re tarring the whole country? And you usually at considerable pains to differentiate Muslims from Islamic extremists. Shurely shome mistake??
Re Charles
You are right. My mistake. I do not wish to tar the entire country. I do of course mean the US Government and those US citizens who voted for the current US Government who do not see a direct relationship between the government they elect and the deaths of millions worldwide.
The US says sanctions against Cuba didn’t work.
Now they are imposing sanctions against North Korea.
Who gives them the right to do this? The US Government has no moral authority. It’s actions are the very definition of evil. Look at the genocide it has committed in Iraq. Millions dead.
Thank you for clarifying.
Frank you make me smile. On the one hand the UN is a ‘zio owned puppet for one world government’ and on the other you lambast Israel for not following UN directives.. so does it have legitimacy which must be adhered to or is it a stage show for covert new world order? I assume you want it both ways to meet your selective outrage…
So if were not happy with americas lies and countless cia coups too over throw governments they dont like or with israels genocide of the Palestinians and countless crimes against humanity who imposes sanctions on america or israel or are they just allowed to do what ever they like?
What?
1. The hacking was an inside job at Sony. Fact it has been proven. Sony has 2 big movies on the horizon starring both men, last thing they needed was to have them attached to a mediocre comedy. Instead have them attached to controversy and win in the end as a huge amount of people feel they have to see the movie. Every ‘leak’ from the Sony hack has been under whelming to say the least… North Korea didn’t do it, and the president of the USA should have never ever gotten involved. If Obama was to of had any involvment it should have been that he too would condemn a movie that was realeased about murdering a world leader regardless of who that leader is. Great excuse to go barging in Obama sadly in today’s online society, facts travel just as fast as bull.
Can you link to the proof please?
Thomas, where is the proof they were involved? Does it not make more sense to look for this rather than seek proof they weren’t which is a ridiculous exercise for an accused to prove they didn’t do something they are being accused of. Burden should always be on the accuser.
Was to have had, not was to of had.
Tit for tat
The word hypocrisy comes from the Greek ὑπόκρισις (hypokrisis), which means “jealous”, “play-acting”, “acting out”, “coward” or “dissembling”.[3] The word hypocrite is from the Greek word ὑποκρίτης (hypokritēs), the agentive noun associated with υποκρίνομαι (hypokrinomai κρίση, “judgment” »κριτική (kritiki), “critics”) The word hypocrisy comes from the Greek ὑπόκρισις (hypokrisis), which means “jealous”, “play-acting”, “acting out”, “coward” or “dissembling”.[3]
The US have been hacking most major companies in Brazil, Germany, Italy, Belgium etc for many years. Industrial espionage.They have committed crimes of political espionage against their nearest allies including bugging EU headquarters in New York and tapping Angela Merkel’s private and professional phone calls, including many of her party, and opposition members. Same story in France etc. Sony, by the way is a Japanese company, not even American.
The fact is nobody knows who did it or if they do the are not producing evidence. If this was a court of law it would be struck out and the USA would be brought up on taking the law into their own hands. North Korea is a basket case but America would want to thread carefully. Wmds have now become amateur hacking. The precedent is set. Let’s see if they stick to it. China is watching. And they are fully capable of deterring any US intervention in North Korea.
This was a corporation that got hacked. Sensitive material got released no one was killed or injured. I am sure corporations all over the world get hacked every day. Why is the government upset about this one. Why are they doing this for a corporation.
No sanctions on America for hacking the Germans. Go figure. People want to play nice with America for trade only. If it was anyone else then there would be war.
Songgun ……… Now is t that some name
have your say