US President Barack Obama authorised Friday the imposition of new sanctions on North Korea, as the "first aspect" of America's response to the "destructive and coercive" cyber attack against Sony.The new sanctions will affect three North Korean entities, including a government intelligence agency, and 10 North Korean officials, the Treasury Department said."The order is not targeted at the people of North Korea, but rather is aimed at the government of North Korea and its activities that threaten the United States and others," Obama said in a letter sent to the leaders of the US Senate and House of representatives.
Obama promised last month that the US would give a "proportional" response to the Nov 24 attack on Sony, which the White House attributes to North Korea and believes was in response to "The Interview", a comedy film about an American plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.The president signed Friday an executive order that allows additional sanctions to be imposed on North Korea due to "the provocative, destabilising, and repressive actions and policies" of that government, and in particular "its destructive, coercive cyber-related actions" against Sony, White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said in a communique."Today's actions are the first aspect of our response" to the cyber attack, Earnest said.