BEIJING - Apparently breached by hackers, North Korea's official Twitter account on Saturday described leader Kim Jong Il and heir apparent Kim Jong Eun as sworn enemies and called for an uprising to remove them from power.
By the time the micro-blogging mischief was over, the North Korean tweets had ranted to its 10,000-plus Twitter followers about profligate nuclear weapons spending and lavish Kim Jong Il drinking parties - hosted "while 3 million people are starving and freezing to death." A video also had been posted on North Korea's official YouTube channel that showed a caricature of Kim Jong Eun driving in a luxury sports car, running over women and children on the side of the road.
Because North Korea permits Internet access only to its most privileged citizens, the cyber attack caused minimal, if any, damage to the propaganda-built personality cult of the Dear Leader, whom Pyongyang, on un-hacked days, describes as a "a general sent from heaven." But for those who operate North Korea's growing social media efforts, the attack is likely to cause embarrassment, as it coincided with the birthday of the chosen successor, Kim Jong Eun.
Hackers use N. Korean tweets to call for uprising
By the time the micro-blogging mischief was over, the North Korean tweets had ranted to its 10,000-plus Twitter followers about profligate nuclear weapons spending and lavish Kim Jong Il drinking parties - hosted "while 3 million people are starving and freezing to death." A video also had been posted on North Korea's official YouTube channel that showed a caricature of Kim Jong Eun driving in a luxury sports car, running over women and children on the side of the road.
Because North Korea permits Internet access only to its most privileged citizens, the cyber attack caused minimal, if any, damage to the propaganda-built personality cult of the Dear Leader, whom Pyongyang, on un-hacked days, describes as a "a general sent from heaven." But for those who operate North Korea's growing social media efforts, the attack is likely to cause embarrassment, as it coincided with the birthday of the chosen successor, Kim Jong Eun.
Hackers use N. Korean tweets to call for uprising
