Obama imposes new sanctions on North Korea in response to cyberattacks

The White House announced on Friday additional sanctions on the North Korean government and more than a dozen individuals and entities after promising a “proportional response” to the cyberattacks on Sony Pictures Entertainment in December.

In an executive order announced Friday, President Obama will target three North Korean organizations, including Reconnaissance General Bureau, Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation and Korea Tangun Trading Corporation, as well as 10 individuals connected to the country’s government. These sanctions, which prohibit the companies and people from accessing the U.S. financial system, are in addition to previous sanctions targeting North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

Friday’s action comes in response to the cyberattacks on Sony Pictures from a group calling itself the “Guardians of Peace” according to the BBC. The group leaked data and personal information from Sony’s computers and threatened theaters planning on showing the movie “The Interview,” a satirical comedy about an assassination on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Although the investigation is still ongoing, the FBI has said North Korea is believed to be behind the cyberattacks.

“This attack clearly crossed a threshold for us for its coercive and destructive nature,” a senior administration official told reporters on a conference call Friday.