New | Obama considers returning North Korea to terrorism list over 'cybervandalism' at Sony
Pyongyang refusing to participate in landmark UN inquiry into human rights in Hermit Kingdom
President Barack Obama says the United States is reviewing whether to put North Korea back on its list of state sponsors of terrorism as Washington decides how to respond to what he calls an “act of cybervandalism”, not one of war, against a movie company.
The statement comes also as North Korea is refusing to take part in a groundbreaking UN Security Council meeting on Monday where the country’s bleak human rights situation will be discussed for the first time.
Obama is promising to respond “proportionately” to a hacking attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment which law enforcement blames on North Korea.
Sony saw troves of commercially sensitive and embarrassing e-mails leaked, and was forced to cancel the cinema release of its movie , a comedy that centres on the assassination of Kim Jong-un. Though North Korea denied its involvement, it praised the hacking as “righteous”.
“We’re not going to be intimidated by some cyberhackers,” the US president said. The president said the US would examine the facts to determine whether North Korea should land back on the terrorism sponsors list.
“We’re going to review those through a process that’s already in place,” Obama told CNN’s programme in an interview broadcast Sunday. “I’ll wait to review what the findings are.
North Korea has reacted angrily to Obama’s comments, warning of strikes against the White House, Pentagon and “the whole US mainland, that cesspool of terrorism”.
The National Defence Commission, led by Kim, warned that its 1.2 million-member army was ready to use all types of warfare against the US.
“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,” said the North Korean commission’s Policy Department in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
North Korea spent two decades on the list until the Bush administration removed it in 2008 during nuclear negotiations. Only Iran, Sudan, Syria and Cuba remain on the list, which triggers sanctions that limit US aid, defence exports and certain financial transactions.
But adding North Korea back could be difficult. To meet the criteria, the State Department must determine that a country has repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism, a definition that traditionally has referred to violent, physical attacks rather than hacking.
But the next decision – how to respond – is hanging over the president as he vacations with his family in Hawaii.
Obama’s options are limited. The United States already has trade penalties in place and there is no appetite for military action.
Meanwhile, international pressure has built this year on Pyongyang after a sprawling UN-backed inquiry alleged crimes against humanity and warned that young leader Kim could be held accountable.
Now the 15-member Security Council is being urged to refer North Korea’s human rights situation to the International Criminal Court, seen as a court of last resort for atrocities.
Instead of a showdown, North Korea says it will not attend Monday’s meeting. It accuses the United States and its allies of using the human rights issue as a tool to overthrow the leadership of the impoverished but nuclear-armed nation.
