Word: pyongyang
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...days, as South Korea has claimed, why hasn't it taken responsibility? The Kim Jong Il regime has never been shy of owning up to its mischief: if anything, it tends to exaggerate its ability to do far-flung damage. And yet, there has been no chest-thumping from Pyongyang about the "glorious destruction of the powerful computer systems of the evil enemies of our Dear Leader...
This uncharacteristic reticence could undermine the initial assumption that the attacks originated in North Korea. Indeed, five days after the first attacks, there has been no proof of Pyongyang's involvement. Unlike their South Korean counterparts, U.S. officials have pointedly avoided blaming North Korea, or any other country, for the attacks. (See pictures of the rise of Kim Jong...
...suspicion fall on the Kim regime? The South Koreans immediately blamed their cousins to the north, but Seoul fingers Pyongyang for all sorts of things, and not always with much to back up its claims. But in this case, there is some circumstantial evidence to support their allegations...
...despite its backward image, the so-called Hermit Kingdom could have pulled it off. Though Pyongyang may have few resources, it spends a lot of them on technology: computer studies are an important part of school and university curriculums. Stratfor's Baker points out that North Korea has become a major player in the computer-animation industry, which means it has banks of highly sophisticated computers, and people who know how to use them. North Korean hackers have in the past, for instance, launched more sophisticated attacks that actually penetrated South Korean sites. (See the 50 best websites...
...turned around and appeared to be heading back. East Asian diplomats have said that North Korea and the regime in Burma have recently stepped up military ties. A large North Korean military delegation recently visited the country, "and the suspicion is that it was very much a sales call. Pyongyang is looking for more customers for its missiles and other material." Deterring that kind of proliferation is what will consume the U.S. and its allies, long after Kim's latest holiday fireworks show is over...