More than a month after the hacking of Sony Pictures, the U.S. imposed new sanctions over the weekend on North Korea, the country it believes is responsible for the attack.
And now North Korea has responded to those sanctions calling them hostile among other things.
A spokesperson for the North Korean government told central news agency KCNA, “The policy persistently pursued by the U.S. to stifle the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea], groundlessly stirring up bad blood toward it, would only harden its will and resolution to defend the sovereignty of the country."
"They caused a lot of damage and we will respond." President Obama said.
Friday, the Obama administration issued its response by imposing these new sanctions on ten North Korean officials and three government agencies. The agencies sanctioned include North Korea’s intelligence agency, main arms dealer and main defense developer.
These sanctions come after the F.B.I confirmed it believes North Korea was behind the Sony cyber-attack. (Video via Fox News)
This is the first time the United States has issued sanctions against a country for isolated cyber-attacks against a private U.S. company. (Video via The White House)
North Korea is already one of the most heavily sanctioned nations by the U.S., leading some to call this latest round of sanctions by the president more of a symbolic response.
The international controversy can mostly be traced back to the controversial Sony Pictures film, "The Interview", a fictional comedy about assassinating North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
Though most major movie theater chains decided against showing the film after a terrorist threat from the Sony hackers, “The Interview” was released by about 200 independent movie theaters across the country. The film is also available for streaming online.The North Korean government claims it had nothing to do with the Sony hack.
This video contains images from Getty Images.
