North Korea knocked offline

The State Department hinted heavily at U.S. involvement in a probable cyber-attack that knocked North Korea’s Internet offline on Monday, refusing to discuss “operational details” but noting that President Obama had promised a response to the regime’s devastating hack on Sony last month.

All four networks linking North Korea to the Internet through China went dark on Monday, just days after the FBI accused the dictatorial regime of culpability in the Sony hack and the White House vowed to strike back.

At the State Department briefing on Monday, a reporter asked whether spokeswoman Marie Harf could comment on whether North Korea was under virtual assault.

Though the question did not even suggest U.S. involvement, Harf’s response was telling.

“As the president said, we are considering a range of options in response,” she said. “We aren’t going to discuss, publicly, operational details about the possible response options — or comment on those types of reports in any way — except to say that as we implement those responses some will be seen, some may not be seen.”

“So I can’t confirm those reports, but in general, that’s what the president has spoken to,” Harf concluded.