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North Korea calls Obama a 'monkey' as it blames US for internet shutdown North Korea calls Obama a 'monkey' as it blames US for internet shutdown
(about 5 hours later)
North Korea has compared President Barack Obama to a monkey and blamed the US for shutting down its internet amid the hacking row over the movie The Interview. North Korea has compared President Barack Obama to a monkey and blamed the US for recent internet shutdowns, amid the hacking row over the movie The Interview.
There was no immediate reaction from the White House on Saturday. According to Chinese state media, North Korea suffered another internet shutdown for at least two hours on Saturday.
The North has denied involvement in a crippling cyberattack on Sony Pictures, but has expressed fury over the comedy, which depicts the assassination of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. Sony initially called off the release of the film, citing threats of terror attacks against US cinemas. Obama criticised the decision, and the movie opened this past week. “At Pyongyang time 7.30 pm (5.30am ET) North Korea’s internet and mobile 3G network came to a standstill, and had not returned to normal as of 9.30pm,” Xinhua news agency reported.
Xinhua’s reporters in North Korea found that the internet was “very unstable” throughout the day, the report added.
The White House declined to comment.
North Korea has denied involvement in a crippling cyberattack on Sony Pictures, but has expressed fury over The Interview, which depicts the assassination of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. Sony initially called off the release of the film, citing threats of terror attacks against US cinemas. Obama criticised the decision, and the movie opened this past week.
On Saturday, the North’s powerful National Defense Commission, which is led by Kim and is the country’s top governing body, said Obama was behind the release of The Interview. It described the movie as illegal, dishonest and reactionary.On Saturday, the North’s powerful National Defense Commission, which is led by Kim and is the country’s top governing body, said Obama was behind the release of The Interview. It described the movie as illegal, dishonest and reactionary.
“Obama always goes reckless in words and deeds like a monkey in a tropical forest,” an unidentified spokesman at the commission’s policy department said in a statement carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency.“Obama always goes reckless in words and deeds like a monkey in a tropical forest,” an unidentified spokesman at the commission’s policy department said in a statement carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency.
It is not the first time North Korea has used crude insults against Obama and other top US and South Korean officials. Earlier this year, the North called US secretary of state John Kerry a wolf with a “hideous” lantern jaw and South Korean president Park Geun-hye a prostitute. In May, the North’s official news agency published a dispatch saying Obama has the “shape of a monkey”.It is not the first time North Korea has used crude insults against Obama and other top US and South Korean officials. Earlier this year, the North called US secretary of state John Kerry a wolf with a “hideous” lantern jaw and South Korean president Park Geun-hye a prostitute. In May, the North’s official news agency published a dispatch saying Obama has the “shape of a monkey”.
The defense commission also blamed Washington for intermittent outages of North Korean websites this past week, which happened after the US had promised to respond to the Sony hack. The US government has declined to say if it was behind the shutdown.The defense commission also blamed Washington for intermittent outages of North Korean websites this past week, which happened after the US had promised to respond to the Sony hack. The US government has declined to say if it was behind the shutdown.
According to the North Korean commission’s spokesman, “the US, a big country, started disturbing the internet operation of major media of the DPRK, not knowing shame like children playing tag”.According to the North Korean commission’s spokesman, “the US, a big country, started disturbing the internet operation of major media of the DPRK, not knowing shame like children playing tag”.
DPRK refers to the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.DPRK refers to the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The commission said the movie was the result of a hostile US policy toward North Korea, and threatened the US with unspecified consequences.The commission said the movie was the result of a hostile US policy toward North Korea, and threatened the US with unspecified consequences.
North Korea and the US remain technically in a state of war because the Korean War, which was fought between 1950 and 1953, ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. The rivals also are locked in an international standoff over the North’s nuclear and missile programmes and its alleged human rights abuses.North Korea and the US remain technically in a state of war because the Korean War, which was fought between 1950 and 1953, ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. The rivals also are locked in an international standoff over the North’s nuclear and missile programmes and its alleged human rights abuses.
The US stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea as deterrence against North Korean aggression.The US stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea as deterrence against North Korean aggression.