North Korea Threatens Strikes Against the White House, Pentagon and 'the Whole U.S. Mainland, That Cesspool of Terrorism

SEOUL, South Korea (TheBlaze/AP) — North Korea said President Barack Obama is "recklessly" spreading rumors of a Pyongyang-orchestrated cyberattack of Sony Pictures and warns of strikes against the White House, Pentagon and "the whole U.S. mainland, that cesspool of terrorism."

Such North Korean rhetoric during times of high tension with Washington is routine. But a long statement from the powerful National Defense Commission late Sunday also underscores Pyongyang's sensitivity over "The Interview," movie whose plot focuses on the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (Image source: AP)

"The DPRK has already launched the toughest counteraction. Nothing is more serious miscalculation than guessing that just a single movie production company is the target of this counteraction. Our target is all the citadels of the U.S. imperialists who earned the bitterest grudge of all Koreans," a report on state-run KCNA read.

"Our toughest counteraction will be boldly taken against the White House, the Pentagon and the whole U.S. mainland, the cesspool of terrorism," the report said. CNN noted that it also said "fighters for justice" including the "Guardians of Peace" — a group that claimed responsibility for the Sony attack — "are sharpening bayonets not only in the U.S. mainland but in all other parts of the world."

The U.S. blames North Korea for the cyberattack that escalated to threats of terror attacks against U.S. movie theaters and caused Sony to cancel "The Interview's" release.

Obama said Washington is reviewing whether to put North Korea back on its list of state sponsors of terrorism.