North Korea calls Wannacry allegations a 'wicked attempt' to tighten sanctions, denies involvement

North Korea has reportedly released a statement, denying all involvement with the Wannacry ransomware attack. They have said that this attempt to pin this cyberattack on the DPRK is a "wicked attempt" to increase and tighten the international sanctions that are already placed on the country.

A spokesperson of the North's Korea-Europe Association has denied all accusations, calling it "groundless speculation".

"This is an act beyond the limit of our tolerance and it makes us question the real purpose behind the UK's move," he said in a statement. "The moves of the UK government to doggedly associate the DPRK with the cyber-attack cannot be interpreted in any other way than a wicked attempt to lure the international community into harbouring greater mistrust of the DPRK."

Known to be one of the largest ransomware attacks ever, Wannacry spread to over 150 countries, affecting over 300,000 computers before it was stopped.

There was mounting suspicion that Wannacry originated from North Korea. The codes used by Wannacry were found to be similar to the ones that have previously been involved in several hacks. A hacker team called the "Lazarus Group" was also suspected to have been involved. Security firm Symantec also declared that Wannacry was the work of North Korean hackers. The NSA said that they believe with "moderate confidence" that North Korea orchestrated the attack in June.

More recently, Ben Wallace, British Home Office minister said that the government believed "quite strongly" that the Kim Jong-un regime was responsible for the attack and that the country was trying to raise cash, reported the Telegraph. He then added that London was, "as sure as possible" about the involvement of the DPRK.

Wannacry took down nearly one-third of the National Health Service's (NHS) public hospitals. Several businesses lost millions to other ransomware attacks this year.

South Korea has mentioned that their neighbours to the North have a large, 6,800-person unit of "cyberwarfare specialists". The infamous 2014 Sony hack was also reportedly carried out by this state-sponsored group. The motive behind these attacks is suggested to be Pyongyang's need for foreign currency, considering the sanctions imposed on them.