US seeks China’s help to block North Korea

The White House reached out to China this week for assistance in blocking North Korea’s ability to launch cyberattacks, The New York Times reported.

The move is likely part of the proportional response President Obama promised Friday for the cyber assault, which exposed the film studio’s sensitive documents, caused fear with threats of Sept. 11-style attacks and led to the cancellation of “The Interview,” a comedy about a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

{mosads}The FBI has accused Pyongyang of sponsoring the hit.

“What we are looking for is a blocking action, something that would cripple their efforts to carry out attacks,” a government official told the Times.

Beijing has not yet responded. North Korea routes the majority of its cyber campaigns — including the Sony attack, according to the FBI — through China, making the Asian power’s cooperation critical.

Chinese collaboration is no sure thing, however.

U.S. and Chinese cyber relations have been strained since the Justice Department indicted five members of the Chinese army for hacking the U.S. In response, Beijing pulled out of a joint cyber working group.

The two countries were unable to restart the talks in November during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Beijing.

Independent of China, the Times reported President Obama has also asked the military’s Cyber Command to develop a range of cyber offensive options that could be directed at North Korea.

Some have speculated these cyber assaults might target North Korea’s nuclear program.

Many believe the U.S. was behind a cyberattack on Iranian nuclear centrifuges in 2010.

A senior official told the Times the U.S. was trying to find a countermeasure that “the North Koreans will notice,” but will not cause Pyongyang to respond.

Reportedly, the U.S. is also considering a slate of economic sanctions against the isolated East Asian regime. It might also add the country to a list of states sponsoring terrorism.