U.S. Announces New Sanctions Against North Korea

HONOLULU (AP) -- The United States imposed fresh sanctions on North Korea on Friday, targeting top state officials and defense-related organizations in an attempt to punish North Korea for a crippling cyberattack against Sony. The sanctions marked the first public act of retribution by the U.S.

Although it was unclear how punishing the blow would be - North Korea already is under tough U.S. sanctions - the move signaled that that the U.S. was not backing away from its insistence that North Korea is responsible for the attack against Sony. North Korea has denied involvement, and some cybersecurity experts say it's possible Pyongyang wasn't to blame.

"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 wrote to a letter to House and Senate leaders.

The White House warned this was just the first part of the U.S. response to the Sony incident.

The stepped-up sanctions, authorized by President Barack Obama, will affect three North Korean entities that are already subject to some U.S. sanctions, plus another 10 individuals who work for those entities or the North Korean government. Although the U.S. already has sanctions in place against North Korea over its nuclear program, these are the first sanctions punishing Pyongyang for alleged cyberattacks.

The FBI has blamed North Korea for the crippling cyberattack against Sony Pictures Entertainment. North Korea has denied involvement but has expressed fury over a comedy film by Sony that mocked North Korea's leader. Sony Pictures initially called off release of the film, citing threats of terror attacks against U.S. movie theaters. Obama criticized Sony's decision, and the movie opened last month.