North Korea has lashed out against a joint advisory issued by 11 countries, including South Korea, the United States, and Japan, which warned against North Korean IT workers securing employment under false identities, calling it a "groundless slander."

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed today (August 4) in response to a reporter's question from the Korean Central News Agency that "the so-called 'joint advisory' stunt orchestrated by the U.S. and its vassal allies under the pretext of a 'cyber threat' is a hackneyed political smear campaign driven by a malicious intent to tarnish our country's image."

The spokesperson continued, "The repeated malicious claims made by the member states of the 'Multinational Sanctions Monitoring Team' (MSMT) are nothing more than the dissemination of unverified and false information," arguing that "it is utterly absurd for the U.S., which monopolizes core cyber resources and possesses and operates the world's largest cyber force, to raise issue with other countries over 'cyber threats.'"

Governments from 11 countries, including the United States, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, issued a joint advisory on July 31, pointing out that North Korean IT workers are fraudulently acquiring jobs by impersonating nationals of other countries and that Pyongyang is utilizing the generated revenue to fund its nuclear and missile development programs.

(Photo: Yonhap News)