The White House responded Saturday to North Korea’s denial that it carried out the cyberattack against Sony Pictures, saying the FBI stands by its conclusion that the reclusive country is behind the “destructive attack.”
“As the FBI made clear, we are confident the North Korean government is responsible for this destructive attack. We stand by this conclusion. The Government of North Korea has a long history of denying responsibility for destructive and provocative actions,” Mark Stroh, a National Security Council spokesman, said in a statement. “If the North Korean government wants to help, they can admit their culpability and compensate Sony for the damages this attack caused,” the statement said.
North Korea proposed a joint investigation with the United States on the cyberattack against Sony Pictures, calling the charge by the FBI that it was behind the hack "slander," state media said on Saturday. An unnamed spokesman of the North's foreign ministry said there would be "grave consequences" if Washington refused to agree to the joint probe and continued to accuse the North, the official KCNA news agency reported.
President Barack Obama has blamed North Korea for the devastating cyberattack, which led to the Hollywood studio cancelling "The Interview," a comedy on the fictional assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. It was the first time the United States had directly accused another country of a cyberattack of such magnitude on American soil and set up a possible new confrontation between longtime foes Washington and Pyongyang.
Earlier Saturday, North Korea vowed to boost its "nuclear power," saying it had become apparent the United States aimed to invade the North under the guise of human rights abuses.
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