Obama: We Will Respond Appropriately to North Korea's Cyber Attack

Barack Obama, the President of the United States, called Sony Pictures' decision to delay the public release of the film 'The Interview' a 'mistake' and warned North Korean leaders to expect a response to Pyongyang's cyber attack against the film company. 'The Interview' is a comedy about Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, and a plot to assassinate him, which was supposed to be released during the Christmas holidays in the U.S. However, Sony Pictures decided to postpone the film's release after receiving threatening messages, a decision that has now faced criticism from the U.S. President. According to the Associated Press, Mr. Obama stated during a press conference on Friday, December 19, referring to the decision by Sony Pictures executives: 'I wish they had spoken to me first... Our society cannot be one where a dictator in another country can impose censorship.' These remarks came just hours after the FBI officially accused the North Korean government of being behind the recent cyber attacks against Sony Pictures. Sony has announced that during these attacks, many of its confidential information, including films and personal and work emails of its executives, were hacked. Barack Obama also noted this incident, stating: 'Sony is a company and has suffered significant damage. Its employees have also been threatened. I empathize with them on this, but I still think they made a mistake.' He also warned the North Korean government that the United States would respond to their actions 'in a manner of its choosing and at a time and place of its choosing.' Previously, North Korea had denied its role in the cyber attacks against Sony Pictures, but nonetheless deemed such actions 'justifiable.'