experts and journalists discuss north korea, touching on the north korean economy, nuclear program, and its generational divide when it comes to consumerism. from the wilson center in washington, this is 1 hour 40 minutes. >>> i think i'll get this started. welcome back, everyone. i'm christian osterman. i direct the history and public policy program here at the center, which includes our north korea documentation project that we're very proud of, and has been at the heart of much of the korea programming that we have been doing. we're delighted now to welcome you to this panel on marketization, social change, and the impact of the korean wave in north korea. as the first panel of our 2014 wilson center washington forum, let me just, before i turn the mic over to the chair of the session, say how deeply grateful we are to the university and the institute for far eastern studies, as well as the university of north korean studies for the partnership that we've had for now 80 years. we started this in 2006. on a very small basis. and this has grown into really a flourishing partnership on

be traced to north korea amid threats of a 9/11-style attack and cancellations by theaters all across the united states. sony has now decided to pull. it's canceling its film release. the film mocks the north korean dictator. a sharp critic of ileana ros-lehtinen. she is standing by along with our correspondents, our analysts and our guests. let's begin with the end to a half a century of u.s. hostility toward cuba after cuba freed a jailed american, president obama today made a major announcement and he announced that he was going to restore full diplomatic ties with the communist nation. let's go straight to our senior white house correspondent jim acosta. he's been following the story all day, jim? >> the cold war with cuba is over and a diplomatic breakthrough for the obama administration. the president announced he is normalizing relations with the island after top-secret talks with the government that went on for more than a year. nothing says a thaw in u.s.-cuban relations more than this, the historic phone call between president obama and raul castro. >> the soviet mili

north korea for the cyberterror attack on sony. the president's national security team has been meeting as the u.s. prepares to blame kim jong-un's regime. >>> a defector is opening up to cnn about the country's vast army of online hackers. >>> and u.s. air strikes are taking a toll on top terrorists in isis. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> let's get to the breaking news at this hour. the white house now is calling the cyberattack on sony a national security threat against the united states that's been taken very seriously. u.s. investigators say an announcement pinning the blame on north korea is expected soon. top obama administration officials are meeting daily. they say they are planning a proportional -- that's their word -- a proportional response to what many are calling an act of cyberterror. there's intensifying debate about sony's decision to cancel release of the film titled "the interview" and whether that ams to giving in to terrorists. ed royce is standing by along with our correspondents, our analysts as we cover all of the breaking news. >>>

one of his best. president obama began his press conference by acknowledgeing that north korea was behind the massive breach of sony's system. >> sony's a corporation. you know it suffered significant damage. there were threats against some employees. i'm sympathetic to the concerns that they've faced. having said all that, yes, i think they made a mistake. i wish they had spoken to me first. i would have told them do not get into a pattern in which you're intimidated by these kinds of criminal attacks. >> i have to give the president credit first. he's never given a more direct answer to any question, but he displayed no perceptible sign of the irony of his response to sony's response. it was mr. obama's white house that then asked google to remove the mohammed video from google's youtube service. the president went on to promise a quote, proportional response to north korea. just minutes after the press conference reports surfaced that the president is considering retaliation. he's actually thinking about put putting north korea back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism. a

showdown, north korea takes on the world." he's a lawyer, spent a lot of time in china. did you , when and why start following north korea? >> well, i was very interested in chinese foreign policy. china's most interesting bilateral relationship is with north korea. on many levels, it doesn't make sense when we view it from the outside. i was just fascinated what was going on. so i started looking at the relationships between beijing and ping yong. host: what's your take? fault from a at what you've seen and should the u.s. retaliate? >> well, north korea is responsible for this hack from all that we can tell. for instance, the code that was used against sony pictures entertainment was virtually identical to the code used against south korean businesses in march and june of last year and seoul traced those attacks back to north korea. the malware is written in korean. the north koreans first refused to deny their involvement. then they had a very unconvincing, it wasn't me. they've been gloating. so, clearly, it was the north koreans. we're going to find out from the administration tod

north korea, how will the white house respond? they aren't just a few guys in basements who likely broke into sony. the north korea hacking network that may, may be behind all of this lunacy. nearly 2,000 cybersoldiers. they may already be operating throughout the world. >>> and "the money lead." classic cigars and rum and president obama taking steps closer to cuba, when can it become your next vacation destination? >>> good afternoon, everyone. welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. we begin with the money lead. the market soaring for a second straight day. the dow shot up over 400 points. this, after stocks had been hovering over plunging oil prices. let's go to money correspondent alison kosik. live in the flesh. good to see you. >> good to see you. >> the remarks set off this rally, what exactly did she say to make the investors so excited? >> i think it's safe to say that the scrooge has exited the stage and investors are getting the santa claus rally that they finally wanted. they said that it was going to be patient when it goes ahead and raises interest rates. there was s

equalization in north korea. they are organized including the trading agencies and the official title is part of the police station organization. and in some cases there are the private firms by then choosing the private sector and commercial talent and they produced the export companies but also for the local markets. the producers -- this is a picture on the partner is kim jong-il according to the importance of the organization to the survival. and there's a very strong competition. they are reducing the size and the time to deal with the economy and it gets more licenses than the party. it's a very strong competition. inside they distribute the lower units into the lower unit pays $6. this is a basic structure. the local branch of the production base. if you go about then it will go down. in this economy productivity is not so important. you must invest in the question otherwise you are wiped out by others and there is the institution property buyers. but it's not legal. if you have the contract if you don't pay back i will kill you. it is a simple solution. and the producers in this

pointing the finger of blame at north korea as the source of the devastating hack of sony pictures. the forced entry, the threat, the embarrassing public disclosure of private material. the president has united states has expressed his concern. the hack has been described as a security problem for the u.s. there is even talk of putting north korea on the list of state sponsor of terrorists. in what way is the north korean computer attack different? worrying, threatening? that's our focus this time on the program. >> i don't think it was an act of war. i think it was an act of cyber vandalism that was very costly and we take it seriously. >> should the government have done more when it appeared as blackmail from an attorney state? that's the question. confirmed that north korea was behind the most emgear racing corporate hacks of the year. this is not a sony security problem. this is a national security problem. and the government has got to lead it. on "meet the press" sunday. >> the fbi has been just terrific in this. they have been diligent, unbelievably confident in helping analyze a

or too much interest in north korea, but to less information or to less facts that journalists can get. because the government don't tell the truth. they think the information is there power. so they used the information. they offer the information when they are necessary. not when we are necessary. and then the north korean government don't tell -- [inaudible] the second cause, the poor environmental about media industry, as some have already said, too much competition between media companies and between people exist. and too little -- too much space on newspaper and too much time on tv news. so we have to write reports, whatever, everyday, every night. so sometimes we'll have enough time to verify the facts and check. it's reality. and i think some reporters have the first belief that north koreans do not argue about their article. and then the last code i have, ideological -- [inaudible] i want to bring -- [inaudible] you know, everybody have their own view of north korea. so do the journalists. some are conservatives and some are -- [inaudible] so usually the conservatives want

new york that killed two nypd officers. first we focus on the greg tension with north korea -- the tension in the wake of the hacking attack that the f.b.i. blamed on that country. north korean defense officials yesterday made new threats gainst the white house, mainland.and u.s. we want your reaction on president obama should take and how serious the u.s. should take. are open.s host: you can catch up with us on all your favorite social on twitter, facebook or e-mail us. a very good monday morning to you. i want to start with a story osted overnight from foxnews.com. north korea issues new threats hacking he u.s. over claims as obama weighs action oting north korea issued its new threats against the united states yesterday and accused resident obama of recklessly spreading rumors that pyongyang is behind the cyber attack on picks the long statement from the powerful national defense commission warned of the white house, pentagon and we will u.s. main of terrorism pool from a statement fox news noting was hours threat after president obama confirmed that he was considering returnin

dramatic plot twist today in the ongoing hollywood saga of sony versus north korea. first the u.s. government today officially pointed the finger at north korea, blaming the country for hacking in to sony pictures entertainment. in a statement the fbi, quote, had enough information to conclude that the north korean government is responsible for these actions. well, as almost everyone knows by now those actions exposed tens of thousands of private sony e-mails. the hackers also threatened violence against theaters, which led sony to cancel the release of the interview. that's the comedy about the assassination of kim jong-un. and president obama said that sony made a mistake in canceling the movie. he said that the united states would respond to north korea, but he did not say how or when. for more we go to randall pinkston. >> reporter: jen, the fbi said that other corporations have suffered from cyber intrusions, but nothing like what happened to sony last month. the fbi said that all of the evidence points at pyongyang. they say they're considering options and president obama pr

. unafraid. see you in 2015. here comes greta. >>> is it an act of war? north korea caught red-handed. today the fbi officially blaming north korea for hacking sony pictures. and now the pressure is mounting for the obama administration to do something and to do that something quickly and severely. this cyber attack could be just the first shot across the bow. but during his year-end news conference president obama refusing to announce any specific response. and at today's pentagon news conference rear admiral john kirby were was asked if the cyber attack were an act of war. >> i'm also, you know, not able to lay out in any specificity for you what would be or wouldn't be an act of war in the cyber domain. >> lieutenant colonel oliver north joins us. good evening, sir. >> greta. >> we've seen the new war nation against nation. nation against an ideology. and now is this a new war? and will the administration not call it that? >> admiral kirby and the president are in a difficult spot because neither nato nor the united nations have defined what an act of cyber war would be. interestin

to north korea threatened violence against the theaters that were to screen it. president obama said sony made a mistake in pulling the film and is among those applauding the decision. the white house released a statement saying "the decision made by sony and participating theaters may people to make their own choices about the film and we welcome that." we also welcome los angeles reporter chris palmeri. this is quite a reversal from sony. >> whenever you have the republican national committee and president obama saying this movie should come out, it seems like sony had to listen. they came out and they say they are delighted. people might see this and they might recoup some of the $80 million to market this film. >> what about george clooney? is the -- we know george clooney was trying to submit a petition around hollywood that nobody would sign protesting this decision. i wonder if the reaction of the powerbrokers of hollywood was really the big issue to push sony over the edge here. >> it is not clear. we have not heard much from sony about the decision. there was a huge outpouri

>>> north korea called u.s. president barack obama the chief culprit behind the release of the interview". we'll tell you what else pyongyang is saying about it. also, two fallen new york police officers are remembered as more threats are leveled against their fellow officers. also ahead this hour it, preparations under way in california for the rose bowl parade. how do they make those floats? and what is inside them? we'll have a report for you. welcome to our viewers in the u.s. and around the world. you're watching cnn live coverage. i'm natalee allen. happy holidays to you. no one expected "the interview" to get a good review from north korea and they did not disappoint issuing a scathing criticism of the comedy about a fictional plot to assassinate kim jong-un. they say the film is illegal, dishonest and contrary to the u.n. charter but they saved some of their harshest language for u.s. president barack obama and paula hancocks is following the story for us from seoul south korea and joins us now live from seoul. paula? >> well, as you say, this was expected. we knew that

prevented? yes, north korea ups the ante claiming the u.s. government was involved in making that movie "the interview" and threatening an even worse cyber attack. >> happy holidays to you. >> and an exclusive interview with president obama. nothing is off limits. how will the white house respond to north korea's escalating threats? hear it all right now. you're in the cnn newsroom. good afternoon, everyone. i'm randy kay in today for fredericka whitfield. we begin this hour in new york. a stunning ambush in broad daylight. two police officers murdered, shot and killed in their police cruiser. today new york is in shock. newspapers calling it an execution and tensions are mounting between police and the city's leadership. we are covering every angle of this story, including an interview with former new york mayor rude where i juliany. alexander field is in new york. erin mcpike is in baltimore where police say the suspect shot his ex-girlfriend, and michelle kazinski has the reaction from the president and his administration from hawaii for us. first, alexandra field is taking us through wha

" tonight, the breaking news, the president talking to north korea and sony. president obama was very blunt. he said north korea and north korea alone launched a devastating attack on sony pictures and vowed to respond but stopped short of saying what and when that would be, only that he would do it at a place and time of his manner. but his harshest marks were not about north korea. it was more about sony. >> sony is an organization. i'm sympathetic to the concerns they have faced. having said all of that, yes, i think they made a mistake. we cannot have a society in which some dictator someplace can start imposing censorship here in the united states. because if somebody is able to intimidate folks out of releasing a satirical movie, imagine what they start doing when they see a documentary that they don't like. >> it is a fair point. and that is pretty blunt. the president of the united states coming out. if you are sony pictures, coming out and saying you made a mistake. that is not mincing words. well ceo from sony michael lynton replied. >> i don't know exactly whether he u

. >>> north korea lashes out at the u.s. president over the release of "the interview" and uses insulting language in the process. also ahead, several experts raise doubts about claims north korea is actually responsible for the sony hack. then who was? we look into it. >>> also, more than 100,000 people are fleeing major flooding in malaysia. we'll have a weather report for you live here. also the red carpet gig can be far from glamorous, did you know. we'll have a behind the scenes look from one of cnn's own. welcome to viewers in the u.s. and around the world. i'm natalie allen. happy holidays to you. we begin this hour at the box office where sony pictures controversial comedy "the interview" is a hit. the film earned $1 million christmas day playing in only about 300 theaters across the u.s. sony originally planned to release the film in 2,000 to 3,000 theaters. sales figures for online viewing on sites like youtube and google play aren't in yet but one blog says "the interview" has been shared illegally about 750,000 times. meantime, north korea which tried to stop the fil

china. second is north korea nuclear issue. fourth, china's new diplomatic initiatives. let me be straightforward by asking instead of explaining [ inaudible ] before the apec summit meeting there were growing criticisms in the united states over the positive attitude on china's new title measure of power relations. it seems to me the outcome was the eclectic whether there is a united states to really embrace the concept. what are the prospects for the new type of rate power seen in the u.s. perspective? this is my first question. second question is about the north korean nuclear issues. well elaborated north korea's increase over its nuclear capabilities. there has been a rising criticism in korea and around this academia. the united states has [ inaudible ] so how would you respond to this kind of criticism? few months ago general curtis in the command of the u.s. forces in korea said the north korea has the capabilities to build nuclear tip missiles. south korean defense minister confirmed this. in the near future we will face north korea's nuclear proliferation and capable of

, christmas day. what will north korea do about it? and a severe tornado slams mississippi. forecasts are calling for 8 inches of rain along the east coast and flights piling up on one of the busiest days of the year. let's go "outfront." >>> and a good evening to all of you. i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, the breaking news, sony in a complete about face releasing the movie to theatyers on christmas day. doing this in the face of threats from north korea that this will trigger terror attacks on theaters and theater goers. and the u.s. has not yet claimed responsibility and north korea has not blamed the americans raising a crucial question of who is responsible. we have more on all of that breaking news in a moment. but also tonight, the breaking news on the streets of new york. hundreds of protesters gathering, numbers growing quickly on the streets. the police are on high alert after the assassination of two officers. the protests are going on despite a call by the mayor to wait until after those officers are laid to rest. new york officials announcing the lights of all city

obama administration declared that the government, that north korea was responsible for the attacks on sony, that caused them to bring down their film, that there will be an u.s. government proportional response to the nature of the crime. asked specifically if that is a counterattack, a cyberattack, the president would not say. he did say that he felt that sony made a mistake pulling down the film. he wished that sony had talked to him beforehand when the president was asked if north korea had any assistance from any other countries, the president said that there were no indications that north korea was helped by any other countries in the attack. he said that we're better off and in better position than in a long time. he described the presidency going into the fourth quarter. on cuba the president said he would not be visiting cuba any time soon. he said there will be train strains in the relationship with cuba, but change has to happen can cuba, it has to, or the economy doesn't work. he said he's not going to support the keyston keystone ex oil po pipeline. let's go to libby ca

. in london and 3:00 p.m. saturday in pyongyang, north korea. wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks for joining us. president obama caps off a momentous week with a news conference set to begin at the bottom of the hour. we'll have live coverage of that. the president steps before the cameras after taking a major step toward diplomatic relations with cuba. he's certain to face questions about that as well as other hot topics, including the sony cyberattack linked to north korea, immigration reform and the fight against isis. the president is expected to highlight job growth and other improvements in the economy. he will answer reporters' questions for maybe as long as an hour. it's scheduled to begin at the bottom of the hour, 1:30 p.m. eastern. we'll have full coverage and analysis. we'll check in with our correspondents and analysts. that's coming up momentarily. first, breaking news on the cyberattack on sony pictures. the fbi is now officially publicly blaming north korea directly for the hacking. the agency releasing a detailed statement on the investigation only

hackers. some call them cyber terrorists whose trail leads all the way to north korea. as sony pulls down billboards for the comedy about north korea's dictator, the question of what to do is front and center. there are late developments on that as well. also, a north korean defector reveals the secrets of pyongyang's cyber war yors. we speak to man who served as one of the top cyber defenders. we begin with the breaking news on how these infill traitors, whoever they were, actually did it. our justice correspondent evan perez joins us now. what's is it word? >> reporter: john, they made it look like an inside job. they stole, the hackers stole the credentials, the passwords of a system administrator, so that they could get access to the entire system, the entire computer system at sony and in this way, one person i talked to today said they had the keys to the entire building. they were able to roam around. this is what they did. for some time, they roamed around to get a lay of the land, figure out what they wanted before they did anything and before anyone noticed they were

. >> north korea experienced widespread internet outages just days after the u.s. accused it of being behind the hack of sony pictures. as the u.n. took up allegations of human rights abuses in north korea. drills are underway against a possible cyber attack after they sold -- stole sensitive documents. >> who is in control of the control room? the hub of south korea's electricity grid in the third of its supply is nuclear. hacker's if they are not closed, they will request they call a round of destruction. this follows the hacking of sony pictures but nobody knows if the two are linked. investigators blame north korea. a year ago, south korean tv stations and banks were hacked. outrage atstreets, any suggestion of blame. the united states, based on an conclusive analysis, is pointing fingers at us. it is a provocation and insults. >> experts are working against a christmas deadline when hackers warn people to stay away from nuclear reactors. computer code may reveal who is behind the latest attack and how dangerous it might be. government asserts the hackers can't get into the

berated sony pictures for giving in to threats from north korea. how are they going to respond? i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." the national lead, after the feds officially point the finger at north korea, president obama says, hey, you know what, some dictator someplace cannot dictate free speech to the united states. and he vows the u.s. will respond. >>> plus, the top executive at sony pictures entertainment now talking to cnn. he says sony hasn't caved. he wants america to see this movie. well, maybe he hasn't checked his e-mail recently. but what we told our fareed zakaria just moments ago in the middle of the biggest crisis on his watch. >>> the world lead, most people in north korea don't even have the technology to watch "the interview." but the communists there were able to deploy a cyber army to get revenge for an insulting stoner flick. and it could be a blueprint, frankly, for more dangerous attacks against the u.s. good afternoon, everyone. welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. we begin this friday afternoon with some breaking news in our national lead. you're ab

getting ready to announce that north korea was indeed behind that b rcrazen attack. also new this morning, a defector who once worked as a computer expert for north korea tells cnn he believes the communist country is running a massive hacker network made up of nearly 2,000 secret cyberwarriors. all of this as sony pulls the plug on the christmas day release of "the interview" after a terror threat by hackers. and a movie release starring -- >> we expect that they are going to treat this as a very, very serious thing. this has been handled at the highest levels. we have the president's counterterrorism adviser who has been helping to coordinate the response from the u.s. intelligence agencies, the fbi, department justice's national security division. that tells you exactly how high this is and how serious this is. as you called it, a cyberterrorism act. this has been, in some ways, a lot more successful than any of the other threats that north korea makes every few months. they make threats against south korea, against the united states, about launching new missiles. a lot of time

very seriously. we will respond proportionately. >> the united states is accusing north korea of hacking into sony pictures prompting sony to withdraw its comedy, "the interview," about fictional assassination of north korean leader kim jong-un. as the u.s. is now considering putting north korea back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, many cyber experts question if north korea could have pulled off the massive hacking operation. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. new york city is grappling with the aftermath of the first targeted killings of police officers in years. officers wenjian liu and rafael ramos were ambushed in broad daylight while sitting in their patrol car in brooklyn on saturday. the shooter, 28-year-old ismaaiyl brinsley, fled to a nearby subway station where he turned the gun on himself. shotg from a single gun wound. earlier in the day, brinsley had shot his former girlfriend in maryland. he later used her instagram account to make anti-police statements suggesting he would

-murthy with "bbc world news." our top stories. internet services to north korea come back online after a nine-hour shutdown. experts say it was probably caused by a cyber attack. >>> after the funeral and memorial for the two people killed in the sydney cafe siege, a warning from australia's prime minister. >> the briefing from the security agencies today indicated that there has been a heightened level of terrorist chatter in the aftermath of the martin place siege. >>> in france, a call for calm from president hollande after a car is deliberately driven into packed pedestrians, the third violent attack in as many days. >>> and the fat one delivers for thousands of spaniards, winners in the world's biggest christmas lottery. >>> hello. we start with north korea, where websites are back online after a complete shut dodown that exper say was probably caused by a cyber attack. it's not known who's responsible, but the timing of the incident is interesting. it comes just weeks after a cyber attack on sony pictures, which made this comedy about the north korean leader kim jong un. after thre

? >>> and internet down, why did north korea's communications network crash? i'll ask a key member of the house intelligence committee. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> police across the country are taking special precautions after the murder of two new york city police officers. the nypd is investigating more than 15 direct threats posted on social media. under intense criticism for his comments on recent protests, the new york city mayor, bill de blasio, is calling the murders an attack on democracy seasoned a appealing for protests to be put aside until the police officers are buried. we're also getting new information about urgent efforts by baltimore authorities to warn police in new york city that the gunman went there with an intent of attacking and killing police officers. the naacp president cornell william brooks is standing by along with our correspondents, our analysts and our guests. let's begin with cnn's martin savidge who's on the ground for us in brooklyn. martin? >> reporter: good evening, wolf. standing outside at the memorial that has grown on

. >>> coming up in this hour, after being blamed for the sony hacking, north korea may be the latest victim of a commuter hack. >>> plus we're learning more about the two new york city police officers ambushed and murdered in their patrol car and the attacker's family now has a message for their loved ones. >>> also ahead, cnn's exclusive interview with the western journalist who got access inside isis. find out how he gained their trust. >>> it is 3:00 in north korea where the internet seems to be returning after an outage that lasted more than nine hours. it's not clear what actually caused the disruption. but some analysts say it could be a cyber attack. now it comes just days after the u.s. said it would respond after blaming north korea for hacking into sony pictures and releasing a wealth of personal information. i want you to take a look at this graph from dyne research. now the purple columns show normal internet usage in north korea. but you see the white gaps on the right side of the chart? they represent a loss of service. >>> meanwhile, south korea is testing its ability

good to see you, i know you are in the middle of all this. >> now to north korea, widespread internet outages reported through that country. online access totally down. it's not clear if the outages were retribution for the cyber attack. the fbilinged north korea to that hacking. the white house says it plans to respond. >> we urge north korea to exercise restraint, to refrain from further actions. we are considering a range of options in response. we are not going to discuss publicly operations or comments on the reports in any way. except to say that as we implement responses, some will be seen, some will not be seen. >> north korea threatened uns specified strikes against the white house, pentagon and the mainland if america re talliates. the national security council says it has no information to share about north korea's outages. >> now to afghanistan, where the battles between the taliban and afghan forces are on the rise. in some errors police are struggling to maintain security. jennifer glasse reports from kabul. >> the people of this district say hundreds of taliban

film, "the interview." the fbi lays the blame for the attacks squarely on north korea. the malware and techniques match previous attacks by pyongyang, the capitol. will ripley has a look at the implications. no one is sure what is going to happen with north korea. >> yeah, that's right, natalie. that is a very, very big interest to many people here in tokyo, not only corporations like sony, which is headquartered here, but government agencies as well. this isn't the first time that north korea is accused of using a cyber attack to inflict chaos beyond the borders. we told you about the incident targeting broadcasters and banks. now the latest incident involving sony where they were able to infiltrate a system and steal a tremendous amount of data. previous hacks that exposed user names and personal names, these hackers, the united states believes north korean hackers used that information to attack and humiliate sony executives, hollywood stars. it was a catastrophic event. here in tokyo, a lot of companies are taking steps to beef up their own cyber security. as experts say, they are

starbucks. and now to the lead. the u.s. is turning to north korea's allies. its ownarted investigation following a request that claims north korea it used facilities in china to attack sony. northis no proof that korea is behind the attack on sony, they said. president obama said the u.s. or respond proportionately. any response to get north korea to do anything could get more complicated wants china is involved. joining us from new york is gordon chang. you have written a lot about this difficult relationship. not just between the u.s. and china but between the u.s. and china in north korea. what do we think likely happened there? >> these attacks originated in china. u.s. intelligence sources have been telling various media organizations that the attacks did not originate in north korea and they started in china. that would be consistent with what we know about this china-north korea relationship. we do not have enough evidence to say 100% but what we do know is that these attacks were routed through chinese ip addresses and that means china had to know what was going on because chin

cyberattack on sony while north korea denies it had anything to do with it. >>> also ahead, a bumpy road of late has uber trying to get back on the right track. welcome to our viewers in the u.s. and around the world. you're watching cnn live coverage. i'm natalie allen. our top stories, new york city officials say the shooting death of two of its officers on saturday was an assassination. officers ra s raphael ramos and wenjin liu were anas natu-- assassinated simply for being cops. >> they were assassinated. >> reporter: police commissioner william bratton says officers wenjin liu and raphael ramos both sustained gunshot wounds to the head while sitting in their patrol cars. >> they never had the opportunity to draw their weapons. they may never have actually seen their assailant, their murderer. >> reporter: the alleged asillant is ismaaiyl brinsley. brooklyn residents are shocked and outraged by the violence. >> we have to take back our communities. this can't happen. we have two families that's missing somebody for the holidays. i don't condone this and i'm not with it. >> repo

started its own investigation which claims north korea used facilities in china to attack sony. china's foreign ministry has condemned the cyber attack and says there is no proof north korea is behind the attack. it was inobama says it couldber vandalism get more complicated once a china is involved. joining us from new york is gordon chang, you have written a lot about this relationship between the u.s. and china and the u.s. and china and north korea. what do we think likely happened? >> these attacks originated in china. sources have been telling media organizations the tax did not --attacks did not originate in north korea. if they started in china, that would be consistent about what we know. right now, we don't have enough evidence to say 100%. what we do know is these attacks were routed through chinese ip addresses and that means china had to know what was going on because china has a great firewall, the most sophisticated set of internet controls. they know everything that goes out and comes back and we know of the sony attacks, the north koreans took at least 100 tera

fbi has concluded that north korea was behind that massive cyber attack at sony pictures entertainment. the fbi says malicious software used in the attack has links to malware previously used by north , including a 2013 attack against south korean banks. which prompted sony to cancel the release of the film "the interview" which to fix additional -- a fictional assassination of the north korean leader. barden.ok and jeff fbi isatement from the pretty significant in itself. the fbi is making a statement on this. e the federal government officially accusing north korea of engaging in a cyber attack. it is a very significant deal. something we happen reporting the last couple of days. we get this statement from the fbi in which they say categorically the fbi now as an information -- enough information. three areas in which they have built that case against north korea. calling this out of bounds activity from a foreign government saying they will be -- there will be costs and consequences. it does not say what those will be. >> exactly how do they know for sure that north ko

. will be reviewing whether to put north korea back on its list of state-sponsors of terrorism. this after pyongyang insists not part of the recent sony cyberact and called fo investigation with the u.s. into finding out who was responsible. chief washington correspondent james rosen is live in washington with the details. hey, james. >> good afternoon. a statement from north korea is national defense commission issued today by the state-run korean news agency vows pyongyang will strike back if president obama punishes the south on the attack on cyberpictures. the hits just keep on coming. new e-mails from amy paschal continue to surface including two. michael linton told fareed zakaria the studio is considering options for releasing the video digitally or through video on demand, but not thus far a single distributor or e commerce site has stepped up to show the incendiary comedy. >> what you saw is a nation state who engaged in trying to really destroy an american company and then took it to the broader level of using threats of violence in order to get their political will. >> no,

and money for sony and would have shown north korea that freedom of speech can't be stopped appears to have been she woulshelved. dish network has declined to run sony's film "the interview." weekend conversations centered on the network airing "the interview." but a short time ago, we learned exclusively that the proposal was canned. it would have allowed tens of millions americans ostensibly to watch "the interview" as early as the launch date of the movie. the movie, whose comedy's plot is to assassinate kim jong-un was pulled from release after movie theaters decided not to show after hackers threatening 9/11 attacks on venues tha that would run it. north korea is responsible for the hack on sony. now, sources close to the matter are telling fox business that top sony executives have been working 24/7 to find a ray way to release the movie. the chairman and ceo, we're reporting that he is adamant that the movie airs somewhere, somehow. dish network told i agree inwas unavailable to comment on the story. sony stands to lose $200 million by outright canceling "the interview." a so

. have a great weekend. . >> the fbi blames north korea for the sony hack attack, but some are not convinced. >>> cuba opening with new rules that could help cuba american families take care of their own on the island. >>> plus why christmas tree farmers are seeing green. i'm jen rogers in for ali velshi, and this is "real money." [music] >> more dramatic plot twist today in the ongoing hollywood saga of sony versus north korea. first the u.s. government today officially pointed the finger at north korea, blaming the country for hacking in to sony pictures entertainment. in a statement the fbi, quote, had enough information to conclude that the north korean government is responsible for these actions. well, as almost everyone knows by now those actions exposed tens of thousands of private sony e-mails. the hackers also threatened violence against theaters, which led sony to cancel the release of the interview. that's the comedy about the assassination of kim jong-un. and president obama said that sony made a mistake in canceling the movie. he said that the united states would respo

underway. >>> north korea making more threats against the u.s. and white house after the u.s. responds on the attack on sony. >>> good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm christine romans. john berman is off today. it is monday, december 22nd. new york city and the people they serve badly shaken by the murder of two police officers sitting in their patrol car in brooklyn saturday night. changing protocols and investigating threats in an unprecedented way. we have details coming in on the shooting. the gunman, ismaaiyl brinsley, told two bystanders watch what i'm going to do. he was chased by two utility workers who happened to see the shootings. brinsley shot himself on the subway platform moments later. president obama called bill bratton expressing his outrage on the senseless murders. the mother of eric garner speaking out to reject violence. >> anyone who is standing with us, we want you to not use eric garner's name in violence. we are not about that. these two police officers lost their lives senselessly. >> cnn's alexandra field has more. >> reporter: christine, thi

karma or the nsa? someone or something has just taken down the internet in kim jung un's north korea after a threat to an aisle ate the united states. the price of oil keeps plunging. not everyone in america will see a big savings on their heating bill. when professional athletes become agent visits, league sponsors get nervous. a top agent will reveal where the line is. i am ali velshi and this is "real money." ♪ >> this appears to be another twist in the holiday drama starring sony pictures, the obama administration and kim jung unt the outages began late friday, got worse over the weekend and became a massive system-wide collapse throughout north korea today. the regime stands accused of stacking sony. the white house is refusing to say if the u.s. government is responsible. stay tuned. >>> earlier today, in the wage of the pledges by president obama that the united states would launch a proportional response, the north korean regime issued a response, our toughest counter action will be boldly taken against the white house and pentagon and the whole u.s. mainland, the cess pool by fa

saying wh they think north korea was behind the breach. today, three movie theatres planning to show "team america" cancelled their subscription. films using the film to replace "the interview", which sony pulled yesterday. new reeges si will not go forward with steve carrel's north korea-based film "pyongyang", we go to jamie mcintyre in washington. >> the u.s. has not fingered north korea as the culprit. there was a number of high-level meetings, an indication of how serious it is. sony cancelled the holiday release of the seth rogan movie "the interview", at four large chains in the united states so they wouldn't show it, because of a threat from hackers referring to the september 11th attacks. the cyber attack has been the subject of daily meetings. >> this is something that is treated as a serious national security matter. there is evidence to indicate that we have seen destructive activity with malicious intent. >> the fbi and the justice department are leading the investigation and reports quote u.s. officials as pointing and accusing fingers at north korea, incensed by the mo

the public's help about the killer's final hours. >>> and the internet back on in north korea after the outage. was this retaliation? >>> and a delta worker accused of smuggling guns, some loaded on planes. we have a shocking breach of security. welcome to "early start." i'm christine romans. john berman has the day off. it is tuesday, december 23rd. 4:00 a.m. in the east. new york is coping with the deaths of the two finest. mayor bill de blasio is reje rejecting the claims of he is anti-police as he is calling for hearing and unity. the mayor urged activists to hold off on protests in the name of eric garner and michael brown until the two police officers are buried. de blasio says he met with the families of rafael ramos and wenjian liu and he tried to console them. >> they are in tremendous pain. they are worried deeply. the ramos family, two children. good young men, who no longer have a father. >> de blasio urging new yorkers and media focusing on supporting the officers' families. some will not heed the call to hold protests and will hold one in harlem. cnn's don lemon as the

breaking news. the fbi named north korea in the sony cyber attacks adding in the statement that north korea's actions were intended to inflict harm on a u.s. business and suppress the right of citizens to express themselves. such acts of intimidation fall outside the bounds of acceptable behavior. now the group guardians of peace released this message to sony executives. it's very wise that you made the decision to cancel the interview, the film of course. it will be useful for you. we have your private and sensitive data. we ensure security unless you make additional trouble. the threat ining statement there. the administration is considering a proportional response. they are expected to discuss the hack in the next hour at the white house. joining me now with much more is pete williams. pete, we have been hearing that white house officials, you reported at the white house and fbi officials believed it was north korea. to those who they say how do they know, let's go to what you know they are reporting. >> sure, andre a. it's three things. it's interesting that this comes from the fb