The Sony hack scandal intensified Saturday when North Korea called President Obama “a monkey” and blamed the U.S. for shutting down its internet.
» COMPLETE COVERAGE: Sony Pictures Hacked Over “The Interview”
North Korea’s powerful National Defense Commission said Obama was behind the release of Sony Picture’s newly-released comedy “The Interview.” In the movie, actors James Franco and Seth Rogen play characters working on an FBI operative to assassinate North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un.
A group called Guardians of Peace took credit for a crippling cyber attack on Sony Pictures. The FBI tied the group to North Korea, saying they identified specific malware and IP addresses associated with previous attacks. The U.S. promised to respond to the hack, calling it a crime against American business and freedom of expression.
North Korea has denied involvement in the cyber attack but has expressed fury over the movie.
On Saturday, the National Defense Commission, North Korea’s top governing body led by Kim, blamed Washington for intermittent outages of North Korean websites. They also claimed Obama was behind the release of “The Interview.”
“Obama always goes reckless in words and deeds like a monkey in a tropical forest,” the commission’s Policy Department said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
The commission says the U.S. will face consequences for its hostility, but didn’t elaborate how.
Meanwhile, “The Interview” has banked more than $1 million at the box office. Sony released the movie to approximately 300 theaters Thursday. Many reported that tickets were sold out.
The movie also is available on Netflix, Google Play and Microsoft’s Xbox video store. It’s also available through a Sony website SeeTheInterview.com.
There’s no word yet on how much the film has made through digital sales.
