The most recent accusation made by the US the bout the involvement of a man from North Korea in the hacking of Sony Pictures in the year 2014 is a “non-existent” individual with the Pyongyang warning Washington that the false accusation could prove to have a negative impact on relations between the two countries.

In a most recent move, the US Justice Department charged Park Jin-hyok on 6 September for the alleged conspiring in “multiple destructive cyber-attacks around the world”, which included the 2014 attack on Sony Pictures. It also alleged that he created malicious software to target and cripple the National Health Service, the UK in 2017.

The US Treasury Department also listed Mr. Park to its list of sanctioned individuals.

He is alleged to have been linked to Lab 110 which is one of the North Korean government’s hacking organizations commonly called as Lazarus Group. L

A published commentary from North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the sanctioning of Mr. Park as a “vicious slander and another smear campaign full of falsehood and fabrication designed to undermine” North Korea.

The KCNA commentary said Mr. Park “is a non-existent entity, and furthermore, the act of cyber crimes mentioned by the Justice Department has nothing to do with us”.

It also said that the US was in fact “misleading the public opinion… by forcibly linking the non-existent ‘offender’ and his so-called cybercrimes with our state organs”, and said that the sanctioning of Korea Expo Joint Venture Company, thought to be a Lab 110 front organization, a total “farce” that was “kicked up” by the US Treasury.

It further said that America should “seriously ponder over the negative consequences of circulating falsehoods”, especially in the recent North Korea-US joint statement following the Kim-Trump summit held in June this year, which was actually meant to build mutual confidence between both the countries.

Despite the North Korean to clear the smoke over Mr. Park that he does not exist, the FBI has already gone on with its procedure to seek him as a wanted poster with a photograph of the man.

The Foreign Ministry of North Korea also went on to criticize America’s own actions in cyberspace by saying Washington has got a long record of questionable behavior regarding hacking and espionage.

“The US is the chief culprit responsible for posing security threats in cyberspace, and the world vividly remembers the fact that the US was criticized for bugging the cell phones of its ally leaders and launching, without hesitation, cyber-attacks against its allies, let alone its enemies,” it said.

“Our State has long made it as its policy to oppose all kinds of cyber-attacks and fully ensure cyber-security, and is taking all steps for its implementation,” the KCNA statement continued.

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