The Interview: North Korea to go back on US terror list after Sony attack

The US is considering putting North Korea back on its list of terrorism sponsors after the hacking of Sony Pictures, President Barack Obama has announced.

A decision would be taken after a review, Barack Obama said, calling the attack an act of cyber-vandalism, not of war.

North Korea denies the attack over The Interview movie, which depicts the fictional killing of its leader Kim Jong-un.

Sony canceled The Interview Christmas Day release after threats to cinemas. It is considering “a different platform”.

In a CNN interview, Barack Obama described the hacking as a “very costly, very expensive” example of cyber-vandalism.

He said US officials would examine all the evidence to determine whether North Korea should be put back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

“I’ll wait to review what the finding are,” Barack Obama said, adding that he did not think the attack “was an act of war”.

North Korea had been on the US list for two decades until the White House removed it in 2008, after Pyongyang agreed to full verification of its nuclear sites.

On December 20, the US also asked China to curb North Korea’s cyber-attacks.

So far there has been no response from Beijing – North Korea’s main ally. North Korea’s communications run through China.

The US National Security spokesman Mark Stroh said: “We are confident the North Korean government is responsible for this destructive attack.”

“If the North Korean government wants to help, they can admit their culpability and compensate Sony for the damages this attack caused,” he said.

The Interview features James Franco and Seth Rogen as two journalists who are granted an audience with Kim Jong-un. The CIA then enlists the pair to assassinate him.