North Korea Blames U.S. For Internet Outage, Calls Obama A “Monkey”

More harsh rhetoric from Pyongyang tonight as the North Korean government pins blame for that country’s Internet shutdown on the U.S., the Associated Press reports. The state-run Korean Central News Agency said that a spokesman for the Policy Department of the National Defense Commission, North Korea’s top military body led by Kim Jong-un, said in statement, “Obama always goes reckless in words and deeds like a monkey in a tropical forest.” The rep also blamed the White House for the sporadic Internet shutdown that has hit North Korea this week, in the wake of President Obama promising the U.S. “will respond proportionally” to the cyber attack on Sony Pictures last month. “The U.S., a big country, started disturbing the Internet operation of major media of the DPRK, not knowing shame like children playing a tag,” the spokesman said, also threatening consequences. The White House has not commented on the latest salvo in the war of words.

This isn’t the first threat to the U.S. from National Defense Commission. It’s the same entity that said last week North Korea would attack “the White House, the Pentagon and the whole U.S. mainland” is Obama followed through on a response to the Sony hack, which the FBI blames on North Korea. The government is peeved about Sony’s comedy The Interview, in which Kim is assassinated by a bumbling talk-show producer (Seth Rogen) and host (James Franco). The Kim-led group said December 21 it has “clear evidence that the U.S. administration was deeply involved in the making of such dishonest reactionary movie” and that it has “already launched the toughest counteraction. Our target is all the citadels of the U.S. imperialists who earned the bitterest grudge of all Koreans. Whoever challenges justice by toeing the line of the biggest criminal U.S. will never be able to escape merciless punishment.”

Related stories

Lizard Squad Member Said Group Provided Log-Ins Used In Sony Attack

'The Interview' Scalping Plan Backfires: Man Wants His $650 Back

'The Interview' Arrives On iTunes

Get more from Deadline.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter