January 3, 2015
After confirming that North Korea was behind the crippling Sony cyber attack, President Barack Obama promised to levy a “proportional and appropriate” response for the hack. The U.S. Department of the Treasury revealed the first wave of that action Friday, issuing sanctions against the government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as well as some DPRK-controlled businesses.
In the Executive Order, the United States “escalates financial pressure” against the Reconnaissance General Bureau (North Korea’s primary intelligence organization), the Korea Tangun Trading Corporation and the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation (North Korea’s primary arms dealer and main exporter of goods and equipment related to ballistic missiles and conventional weapons). The Executive Order also sanctions 10 individuals affiliated with the DPRK.