Tag: North Korea

It seems that North Korea would be the likely suspect for such an attack, but a skilled criminal group could have used the dispute between North Korea and Sony as good cover for their own hacking attack:

Could an upcoming Seth Rogen–James Franco satire about North Korea have triggered last week’s devastating computer attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment?

On Sunday, Sony internet technicians were still wrestling with the fallout from a paralyzing hacker attack the previous Monday that left the computer, email and phone systems at the TV and movie studio inoperable. A group calling itself Guardians of Peace claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened to release sensitive corporate data.

But Sony has not identified the source of the takedown, according to an individual with knowledge of the situation. Among the theories investigators are checking is that North Korea, or someone operating on its behalf, launched the cyber attack in retribution for “The Interview,” another knowledgeable individual told TheWrap. The upcoming Sony comedy film features Rogen and Franco as journalists who land an interview with reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, and are then asked by the CIA to assassinate him.  [Yahoo]

You can read more at the link, but if North Korea did do this they have only further given Sony free publicity for this movie that will only increase the number of viewers of it.

N. Korea slams U.S. over racial discrimination http://t.co/wZ4NkbPDkU via @GlobalPost

— NK NEWS (@nknewsorg) November 30, 2014

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un poses for pictures with female pilots as he provides field guidance to the flight drill of female pilots of pursuit planes of the KPA Air and Anti-Air Force in this undated photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang November 28, 2014. REUTERS/KCNA

Ask a North Korean: what do people in the DPRK do for fun? http://t.co/E9CMh5EVBa

— NK NEWS (@nknewsorg) November 29, 2014

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un tours the Korean April 26 Cartoon Film Studio in Pyongyang. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency reported it on Nov. 27, 2014, without saying when the visit was made. Circled is Kim Yo-jong, the North Korean leader’s younger sister who serves as a deputy director level official at the North’s ruling Workers’ Party. (KCNA-Yonhap)

Much like his dad, Kim Jong-un is keeping his sister close to help him administer North Korea:

In her slim-fitting trouser suits and black-heeled shoes, Kim Yo Jong cuts a contrasting figure to her pudgy older brother, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

On Thursday, state media said the younger Kim, 27, had taken a senior position in the ruling Workers’ Party, confirming speculation she had moved closer to the center of power in the secretive state.

It named her as a vice director alongside the head of the Propaganda and Agitation Department, which handles ideological messaging through the media, arts and culture.

Kim Yo Jong’s title supports earlier reports from a North Korean defector group which said she may have taken a high-level role when Kim Jong Un recently disappeared from public view for more than a month, prompting speculation about his grip on power.

South Korea’s intelligence agency later said Kim, 31, was likely to have had surgery on his left ankle. Kim has since reappeared, walking with a limp.

Kim Yo Jong’s power has been likened to that of a prime minister, an unnamed South Korean intelligence source told the Seoul-based JoongAng Ilbo newspaper in April, even before her brother’s injury.

“All roads lead to Comrade Yo Jong,” the source said.  [Reuters]

You can read more at the link.

New building built on site of deadly Pyongyang collapse http://t.co/jzpSzvkrdi

— Joshua Stanton (@freekorea_us) November 26, 2014

They are far from being the first people to claim the US will collapse like the Roman Empire, but this is the first time I have the North Koreans make this claim though:

On Nov. 15, President Obama was speaking at the University of Queensland in Australia when he began to talk about the present day’s place in history. “I often tell young people in America that, even with today’s challenges, this is the best time in history to be alive,” the president said. The president’s speech was then followed by one by then-Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, who explained how the U.S. military would need to reform to keep this place in history.

Weeks later, these speeches may be forgotten by many, but not in North Korea. In a new commentary published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday, these two speeches are described as the “poor shriek of those facing ruin” and a “recognition of the dark reality in the U.S. as it is a reflection of extreme uneasiness and horror-phobia.”

As KCNA grandly puts it, the speeches “reminds one of the old Roman Empire that was buried in history after facing a ruin for coveting for prosperity through aggression and wars.”

“The poor fate of the U.S. reminiscent of the ruin of the Roman Empire is a due outcome of its history of aggression and arbitrary practices,” the article then repeats.  [Washington Post]

You can read more at the link, but the Roman Empire was founded by Augustus in 31BC and ended with the fall of Constantinople in 1453; the US has been around since 1776 so that would mean, (KCNA mark this date on your calendar) that the US “Empire” should fall just like the Roman Empire some where around 3260! 1,254 more years of pax-Americana! So if North Korea wants to compare the US to the Roman Empire than go ahead. The Roman Empire was one of the greatest civilizations ever just like America. The Romans just like any civilization had it’s faults but the Romans did far more good than bad for the ancient world just like America is continuing to do far more good than bad in today’s modern world.  The Roman Empire is well remembered to this day due to their achievements much like America will remembered many centuries from now while the Kim regime will remembered by no one.

Artistic director @The_Globe: Company still "very much hopes" to be able to bring HAMLET to NK. http://t.co/0cXxiPTll1

— Richard Horgan (@LiberateLaura) November 22, 2014

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (R) inspects a military training. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency reported it on Nov. 23, 2014, without elaborating on the timing and venue of the trip. (KCNA-Yonhap)