Warning of "serious consequences" if the United States retaliates against it, North Korea on Saturday insisted that it was not behind a damaging cyberattack on Sony Pictures, and offered to prove its innocence by proposing a joint investigation with Washington to identify the hackers.
The message, attributed to an unnamed Foreign Ministry spokesman and carried by North Korea's state-run news service, appears to be the secretive regime's response to President Obama's statement the day before that the United States would retaliate for the hacking, which has shaken one of Hollywood's largest studios.
American officials said the hackers' methods and other clues led them to conclude that North Korea was behind the attack, which resulted in the posting online of Sony's confidential emails and unreleased movies.
The cyber attack and also emailed threats of terrorist attacks against movie theaters prompted Sony to cancel the Christmas release of "The Interview," a comedy about the assassination of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. North Korea has previously denied responsibility for the hacking, though it called the attacks a "righteous deed" by its "supporters and sympathizers."
On Saturday, North Korea described the American claims that it was behind the attacks as slander. It also warned of serious consequences if the United States rejects its offer of a joint investigation, said the statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, according to The Associated Press.
Sony said the threats against theaters left it no choice but to cancel the Dec. 25 release of "The Interview."
On Friday, Mr. Obama faulted Sony's decision to withhold the movie, saying that it created a precedent of studios giving into intimidation.
