DHAKA: President Barack Obama is ‘recklessly’ spreading rumors of a Pyongyang-orchestrated cyber attack of Sony Pictures, North Korea said, as it warns of strikes against the White House, Pentagon and ‘the whole US mainland, that cesspool of terrorism.’

Such rhetoric is routine from North Korea’s massive propaganda machine during times of high tension with Washington, reports the Times of India.

But a long statement from the powerful National Defense Commission late Sunday also underscores Pyongyang’s sensitivity at a movie whose plot focuses on the assassination of its leader Kim Jong Un, who is the beneficiary of a decades-long cult of personality built around his family dynasty.

The US blames North Korea for the cyber attack that escalated to threats of terror attacks against US movie theaters and caused Sony to cancel ‘The Interview’s’ release.

The National Defense Commission, led by Kim, warned that its 1.2 million-member army is ready to use all types of warfare against the US.

North Korea has said it knows how to prove it had nothing to do with the hacking and proposed a joint investigation with the US

BDST: 1308 HRS, DEC 22, 2014