"We have taken this stand because all of the 'sanctions' the US has imposed against the DPRK so far are based on the inveterate hostility and repugnancy towards it [North Korea] and Washington's hostile policy towards it," KCNA reported Wednesday, citing North Korea's National Defense Commission (NDC). According to the statement, the United States has to halt this approach to the country, "if it does not want to suffer a war disaster."
Last week, US President Barack Obama issued an executive order imposing additional sanctions on North Korea, over the latter's alleged involvement in a cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment. The new sanctions affect officials from the DPRK government, the Workers' Party of Korea, state agencies controlled by them, and individuals who support the government financially, materially or technologically.
The FBI identified North Korea as the perpetrator of the November cyberattack on Sony, in which confidential data and emails were leaked. The hackers also demanded that the company, as well as movie theaters, cancel the release of "The Interview", a comedy film about a plot to assassinate North Korean President Kim Jong-un. Sony initially cancelled the premiere, later deciding to let "The Interview" run in some theaters on Christmas Day.
