Coinciding with the Justice Department’s indictment of three North Korean nationals under the pretext of hacking operations, the State Department also claimed that Pyongyang posed a major cyber threat to Washington and its allies.
The new US administration, led by Joe Biden, has announced plans to review Washington’s policy toward North Korea.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said Wednesday evening: North Korea‘s cyber-activities that threaten Washington and its allies will be included in the assessment.
According to Reuters, Price claimed during a daily news conference: “North Korea is a significant threat to financial institutions and remains a cyber-espionage threat capable of carrying out malicious cyberattacks.”
He further explained: “Our review of our policy towards North Korea includes all the vicious activities and threats that still exist from North Korea. “Of course, we are carefully assessing the evil activities of this country.”
Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice on Wednesday evening accused three North Korean programmers of stealing $ 1.3 billion in money and currency codes from Hollywood film companies under the pretext of widespread hacking.
The Justice Department alleges that three North Koreans carried out cyber-attacks to steal funds while serving in the military intelligence service, Reuters reported.
Earlier, a State Department spokesman announced that North Korea would continue to focus on missile and nuclear activities and work to disarm the country.
In recent decades, the United States has deployed troops in South Korea and neighboring North Korea, and has repeatedly called for its dismantling, but Pyongyang has vowed to ensure its security and survival.
A few days ago, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken telephoned her South Korean counterpart to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to clearing the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons, despite the deadlock in talks with North Korea.