North Korea warns US that cyberattack allegations could undermine talks

North Korea blasted a U.S. complaint alleging the country was behind several global cyberattacks, calling the charges a “smear campaign” that could undermine talks between the two countries.

Han Yong Song, a researcher at the Institute for American Studies of the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement Friday issued through the state-run Korean Central News Agency that the man listed in the complaint, Park Jin Hyok (which the North Korea statement spells “Pak Jin Hyok”), was “a non-existent entity.”

He also denied the country’s involvement in the 2014 Sony hack and last year’s global WannaCry ransomware attack, calling the charges “vicious slander” and “preposterous falsehoods.”

{mosads}“The U.S. should seriously ponder over the negative consequences of circulating falsehoods and inciting antagonism against the DPRK that may affect the implementation of the Joint Statement adopted at the DPRK-U.S.,” the statement read, referring to an agreement reached between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un earlier this year.

The Department of Justice last week unsealed a 177-page-long complaint alleging that North Korea was behind global cyberattacks dating back several years. Park was the only person named in the document, but the allegations said he worked with co-conspirators.

Trump publicly praised North Korea both before and after the complaint was unsealed. The Washington Post reported that Kim told South Korean representatives that he still trusts Trump.

The two leaders met at a summit in June, when they signed an agreement guaranteeing unspecified security measures from the U.S. in exchange for the eventual denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Planning for a second meeting between Kim and Trump is underway, the White House said earlier this week.