North Korea calls US cyber crime accusations 'absurd slander'

SEOUL, May 3: North Korea dismissed on Sunday US accusations that it has engaged in cyber crimes to generate illicit revenues, calling the criticism "absurd slander".
Washington has accused Pyongyang of ramping up a cyber-warfare program responsible for the theft of billions of dollars in virtual assets in recent years, turning hacking into a key source of foreign currency in the face of biting sanctions over its nuclear and weapons programmes.
In a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, an unnamed foreign ministry spokesperson said the US government had been "trying to spread incorrect understanding" about North Korea, "talking about the non-existent 'cyber threat'".
"This is nothing but an absurd slander to tarnish the image of our country by spreading false information in pursuit of political purposes," it said.
The US Justice Department in April sentenced two Americans for helping North Koreans obtain remote IT work with US companies and raising more millions of dollars in illicit revenue for its weapons programmes.    �"AFP