Obama Hits North Korea With Sanctions After Sony Hacking

The White House on Friday announced a wave of sanctions against North Korea in response to the Sony hacking.

AP

“Today, the president issued an execuive order authorizing additional sanctions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement. “This E.O. is a response to the government of North Korea’s ongoing provocative, destabilizing and repressive actions and policies, particularly its destructive and coercive cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment.”

The FBI last month decisively named North Korea as the culprit behind the Sony attack, purportedly launched to block the release of the satirical film, "The Interview." The breach brought a slew of proprietary and embarrassing information about the studio to light. Some experts have since questioned the accuracy of the FBI's accusation.

At a Dec. 19 news conference, Obama told reporters North Korea "caused a lot of damage, and we will respond.  We will respond proportionally, and we’ll respond in a place and time and manner that we choose."

The administration says that the sanctions will affect three North Korean entities, including an intelligence agency within the communist nation and an arms dealer. The administration is hitting 10 individuals connected to those entities in some capacity or to the North Korean government.

The new sanctions ban Americans from doing business with these 10 individuals, while also prohibiting the targeted individuals from using the U.S. financial system.

In a letter to Congress, Obama explained that the recent actions build on previous sanctions imposed on North Korea.

“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.

The executive order provides criteria for the departments of Treasury and State to block property of any person or entity deemed to be affiliated with the government of North Korea, or a member of the Workers Party of Korea, or any individual or company that provided financial, technological or other support to the North Korean government.

The three entities are the Reconnaissance General Bureau, or RGB, which is North Korea’s primary intelligence organization; the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation, the country’s primary arms dealer; and the Korea Tangun Trading Corporation, which the Treasury Department says “is primarily responsible for the procurement of commodities and technologies to support North Korea's defense research and development programs.”

The Treasury Department identified the following 10 individuals in a news release.

· Kil Jong Hun and Kim Kwang Yon are officials of the North Korean government and represent the southern African interests of KOMID. Kil Jong Hun is KOMID’s Representative in Namibia and an official of the North Korean government.

· Jang Song Chol is a KOMID representative in Russia and an official of the North Korean government. He is working with individuals in Sudan who are procuring materials from him.

· Yu Kwang Ho is an official of the North Korean government.

· Kim Yong Chol is a KOMID Representative in Iran and an official of the North Korean Government.

· Jang Yong Son is a KOMID Representative in Iran and an official of the North Korean government.

· Kim Kyu is the KOMID External Affairs Officer and an official of the North Korean government.

· Ryu Jin and Kang Ryong are KOMID officials operating in Syria and are officials of the North Korean government.

· Kim Kwang Chun is a Korea Tangun Trading Corporation representative in Shenyang, China and an official of the North Korean government.