North
Korea has threatened unspecified attacks on the US in an escalation of a war of
words following the Sony Pictures cyber-attacks.
In a
fiery statement, the North warned of strikes against the White House, Pentagon
and "the whole US mainland".
North
Korea denies US claims it is behind cyber-attacks linked to a film that
features the fictional killing of its leader Kim Jong-un.
North
Korea has a long history of issuing threats against the US.
The
latest statement comes days after the US formally accused the North of
orchestrating a massive cyber attack on Sony Pictures.
"The
army and people of the DPRK [North Korea] are fully ready to stand in
confrontation with the US in all war spaces including cyber warfare
space," a long statement carried by the official Korean Central
News Agency said.
"Our
toughest counteraction will be boldly taken against the White House, the
Pentagon and the whole US mainland, the cesspool of terrorism, by far
surpassing the 'symmetric counteraction' declared by Obama."
It
accused President Obama of "recklessly making the rumour" that North
Korea was behind the Sony attack.
It also
said it "estimates highly the righteous action" taken by the hackers
of Sony, although it is "not aware of where they are".
Sony
details leaked
The hack resulted in
unreleased films and the script for the next James Bond film being leaked
online.
Details of corporate
finances and private emails between producers and Hollywood figures were also
released.
The eventual fallout
from the attack saw Sony cancel the Christmas release of a comedy called The
Interview, a film depicting the assassination of the North Korean leader.
That decision followed
threats made by a group that hacked into Sony's servers and leaked sensitive
information and emails.
The North has denied
being behind the attacks, and offered to hold a joint inquiry with the US.
But the US turned down
the offer, and President Barack Obama said it was considering putting North
Korea back on its list of terrorism sponsors, a move that further angered
Pyongyang.
North Korea had been
on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism for two decades until the White
House removed it in 2008, as part of now-stalled negotiations relating to
Pyongyang's nuclear programme.
In an interview with
CNN on Sunday, Mr Obama promised to respond "proportionately" to the
cyber-attack.
"I'll wait to
review what the findings are," he said, adding that he did not think the
attack "was an act of war".
The US has reportedly
also asked China to curb cyber-attacks by North Korea.
The Interview saga
The Interview features
James Franco and Seth Rogen as two journalists granted an audience with Mr Kim.
The CIA then enlists the pair to assassinate him.
Sony says it made the
decision to cancel its release after most US cinemas chose not to screen the
film, following terrorism threats.
·
22 November: Sony computer systems hacked, exposing embarrassing emails and
personal details about stars
·
7 December: North Korea denies accusations that it is behind the
cyber-attack, but praises it as a "righteous deed"
·
16 December: "Guardians of Peace" hacker group threatens
9/11-type attack on cinemas showing film; New York premiere cancelled
·
17 December: Leading US cinema groups say they will not screen film; Sony
cancels Christmas-day release
·
19 December: FBI concludes North Korea orchestrated hack; President Obama
calls Sony cancellation "a mistake"
·
20 December: North Korea proposes joint inquiry with US into hacks,
rejected by the US.
Source: BBC.CO.UK
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