North Korea on Saturday condemned remarks by a senior White House official about Pyongyang’s cyberattack capabilities and said it would continue to stand against what it called U.S. aggression toward it.

A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that branding North Korea as a “group of criminals” revealed the true nature of Washington’s hostile policy toward North Korea.

Anne Neuberger, the U.S. deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, reportedly said Wednesday the North Koreans were a criminal syndicate pursuing revenue “in the guise of a country.”

North Korea is widely believed to have thousands of trained hackers who are stealing cryptocurrencies, and that has become a major source of funding for the sanctions-hit country and its weapons programs.

“After all, the U.S. administration has revealed the true picture of its most vile hostile policy, once covered under the veil of ‘dialog with no strings attached’ and ‘diplomatic engagement’,” state news agency KCNA said, citing the foreign ministry spokesperson.

“In a similar fashion, the DPRK will face off the U.S., the world’s one and only group of criminals.”
…