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| In Response to Sony Attack, U.S. Levies Sanctions on 10 North Koreans | In Response to Sony Attack, U.S. Levies Sanctions on 10 North Koreans |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| HONOLULU — The Obama administration doubled down on Friday on its allegation that North Korea’s leadership was behind the hacking of Sony Pictures as it announced new sanctions on 10 senior North Korean officials and several organizations. Administration officials said the action was part of what President Obama promised would be a “proportional response” against the country. | HONOLULU — The Obama administration doubled down on Friday on its allegation that North Korea’s leadership was behind the hacking of Sony Pictures as it announced new sanctions on 10 senior North Korean officials and several organizations. Administration officials said the action was part of what President Obama promised would be a “proportional response” against the country. |
| But White House officials said there was no evidence that the 10 officials took part in ordering or planning the Sony attack, although they described them as central to a number of provocative actions against the United States. | But White House officials said there was no evidence that the 10 officials took part in ordering or planning the Sony attack, although they described them as central to a number of provocative actions against the United States. |
| “It’s a first step,” one of the officials said. “The administration felt that it had to do something to stay on point. This is certainly not the end for them.” | “It’s a first step,” one of the officials said. “The administration felt that it had to do something to stay on point. This is certainly not the end for them.” |
| The actions may well turn out to be more symbolic than substantive: North Korea already faces some of the heaviest sanctions of any country. The action seemed to be an effort to echo sanctions that the Bush administration imposed eight years ago against a bank that the North Korean leadership used to buy goods illicitly and to reward leaders for loyalty. Those penalties were later judged to be the only actions that got the attention of Kim Jong-il, the dictator whose son now runs the country. | The actions may well turn out to be more symbolic than substantive: North Korea already faces some of the heaviest sanctions of any country. The action seemed to be an effort to echo sanctions that the Bush administration imposed eight years ago against a bank that the North Korean leadership used to buy goods illicitly and to reward leaders for loyalty. Those penalties were later judged to be the only actions that got the attention of Kim Jong-il, the dictator whose son now runs the country. |
| The more immediate impact of the announcement may be that the administration is not backing down on Mr. Obama’s announcement on Dec. 19, hours before leaving for his Hawaii vacation, that “North Korea engaged in this attack” on Sony Pictures. The president’s statement touched off an escalating debate between skeptics who said the attack came from inside Sony and government officials who said it could be traced to North Korea. | The more immediate impact of the announcement may be that the administration is not backing down on Mr. Obama’s announcement on Dec. 19, hours before leaving for his Hawaii vacation, that “North Korea engaged in this attack” on Sony Pictures. The president’s statement touched off an escalating debate between skeptics who said the attack came from inside Sony and government officials who said it could be traced to North Korea. |
| The security firms and analysts questioning the government’s decision to “attribute” the attack to North Korea say that the public indicators do not back up the case. They contend that the United States may have been duped by ingenious hackers who know how easy it is to hide one’s tracks in the cyberworld. | The security firms and analysts questioning the government’s decision to “attribute” the attack to North Korea say that the public indicators do not back up the case. They contend that the United States may have been duped by ingenious hackers who know how easy it is to hide one’s tracks in the cyberworld. |
| But Mr. Obama’s aides say those analysts do not have access to the evidence that persuaded the president, who is usually cautious on intelligence issues, to blame North Korea. They continue to insist that they cannot explain the basis of the president’s declaration without revealing some of the most sensitive sources and technologies at their disposal. | But Mr. Obama’s aides say those analysts do not have access to the evidence that persuaded the president, who is usually cautious on intelligence issues, to blame North Korea. They continue to insist that they cannot explain the basis of the president’s declaration without revealing some of the most sensitive sources and technologies at their disposal. |
| The Treasury Department said the sanctions were part of an executive order that Mr. Obama signed in Hawaii against both the North Korean government and the Workers’ Party, which has complete control of North Korea’s politics. In a statement, Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew suggested that the sanctions were intended not only to punish North Korea for the hacking of Sony — which resulted in the destruction of about three-quarters of the computers and servers at the studio’s main operations — but also to warn the country not to try anything like it again. | |
| “Today’s actions are driven by our commitment to hold North Korea accountable for its destructive and destabilizing conduct,” he said. “Even as the F.B.I. continues its investigation into the cyberattack against Sony Pictures Entertainment, these steps underscore that we will employ a broad set of tools to defend U.S. businesses and citizens, and to respond to attempts to undermine our values or threaten the national security of the United States.” | |
| In reality, none of the targets of the sanctions are likely to feel much sting. One of them is the Reconnaissance General Bureau, the intelligence organization in North Korea that directs the country’s arms trade, which is already the subject of the Proliferation Security Initiative, an effort started by the Bush administration to intercept the sales of missiles and other arms. But the Treasury noted that “many of North Korea’s major cyberoperations run through R.G.B.” | |
| The Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation, another target, is an arms-dealing organization, with offices in North Korean embassies around the world. Both the Bush administration and the United Nations levied sanctions against it in 2009. The third group on the Obama administration’s list, the Korea Tangun Trading Organization, obtains missile parts and materials. The Obama administration issued sanctions against it in 2009 after a North Korean nuclear test. | |
| Eight of the 10 individuals named on the list have some affiliation with the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation, and some are also officials of the government. One of them is the corporation’s representative in Iran, which is one of the North’s main buyers for missile technology and has long been suspected of trading in other banned technologies. |