I suspect we'll look back on "Nork" as a derogatory racial term that didn't need to be used here. Just call them the attackers, or by their group name, or whatever.
But this is simply bad professional writing. It would be like calling a group of people Japs, Ruskies, Pakis, or Chinamen. Even if we assume less derogatory intent, you probably wouldn't use Yank, Pommy, or Desi in this context either.