Spokesperson for Foreign Ministry of DPRK Gives Answer

Pyongyang, July 4 (KCNA) – A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea gave the following answer to a question raised by KCNA on July 3 as regards the fact that the U.S. judicial authorities recently prosecuted DPRK citizens on the suspicion of a “cyber crime” and put them on a wanted list:

The recent incident is an absurd smear campaign and grave violation of sovereignty aimed at tarnishing the image of our state as it is a continuation of the hostile move of the successive U.S. administrations that have talked much about the non-existent “cyber threat” from the DPRK.

The Foreign Ministry of the DPRK expresses serious concern over the U.S. judicial authorities’ provocation which is threatening and encroaching on the security, rights and interests of our citizens by fabricating the groundless “cyber” drama, and strongly denounces and rejects it.

The real threat of creating international cyberspace instability comes not from the DPRK but from the U.S.

The U.S. has long been posing a constant threat to the cyber security of the DPRK and other sovereign states by making cyber space a scene of battle and abusing the cyber issue as a political weapon to tarnish the image of other countries and impair the exercise of their legitimate rights.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has the right to take a proper and proportionate countermeasure to thoroughly protect the security and rights of its citizens from the judicial enforcement for a sinister political purpose, and to call to strict legal account the outsiders who took malicious action.

We will never tolerate any hostile act of the U.S. to encroach upon our state’s sovereignty through groundless slander and illegal application of judicial means but will firmly defend the legitimate rights and interests of the citizens. -0-
www.kcna.kp (2025.07.04.)

http://kcna.kp/en/article/q/5f6bb047c5f09b1f08bba5ece994a9c0.kcmsf
https://archive.is/kE1AD

  • dead [he/him]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
    12·
    4 days ago

    I believe the context of this DPRK press statement is in response to the article below.

    The U.S. Department of Justice and FBI on Monday announced an arrest and indictments targeting North Korea’s so-called “IT worker” program, where North Koreans obtain remote IT-related positions at more than 100 U.S. companies, and use that access to steal money and information from a host of companies around the world.

    The North Korean workers used compromised identities of more than 80 U.S. citizens to obtain remote jobs at more than 100 U.S. companies and caused more than $3 million in legal fees, remediation and other costs, according to the DOJ.

    The two men, along with four other unnamed U.S. “facilitators,” assisted the North Koreans by procuring and operating laptops used by the overseas workers, created financial accounts to receive money earned by the workers to be sent back to North Korea, and created shell companies to make the workers appear more authentic, according to the DOJ, earning nearly $700,000 from the scheme for themselves.

    Federal prosecutors also indicted six Chinese nationals and two Taiwanese nationals for alleged roles in the operation. China would take all necessary measures to safeguard the rights and interests of its citizens, the country’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters at a regular news briefing on Tuesday.

    https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/doj-announces-arrest-indictments-north-korean-it-worker-scheme-2025-06-30/

    • Horse {they/them}@lemmygrad.mlEnglish
      15·
      4 days ago

      wasn’t this the story where “stealing money” was just… earning a wage for their work at US market rate for IT workers?

      • dead [he/him]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
        8·
        4 days ago

        I did not copy/paste the full article. If you click on the link, it says the US is accusing them of stealing $900k of bitcoin and software source code.

        The North Koreans also allegedly stole at least $900,000 worth of cryptocurrency from one Georgia-based company with their access, along with employer data and source code, including International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) data, from a California-based defense contractor, the DOJ said.