The chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has called on his government to go beyond its latest round of sanctions on Pyongyang following the cyber attacks on Sony Pictures Entertainment.
 
Speaking on Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” U.S. Senator Robert Menendez said while the latest round of sanctions against North Korea are “a good first step,” the U.S. must look at putting the North back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism. He added that the move would stop the North from repeating such an act.

[Sound bite: U.S. Senator Robert Menendez - Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee (English)]
"So I think there has to be a real consequence to this. Otherwise, you will see it happen again and again."
 
He also raised issue with President Barack Obama’s definition of the attack against Sony as an “act of vandalism.” He argued that terrorism is what happened in the case of Sony as the North landed a virtual bomb that ultimately had real consequences on the company and its workers.
 
On January 2, the Obama administration announced sanctions on ten North Korean officials and three state organizations, which it suspects were involved in the cyber attacks and threats on the U.S. film company with regard to its recent movie, “The Interview.” Washington, however, did not put the North back on the blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism.