North Korea Denies Role In WannaCry Ransomware Attack...

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: North Korea on Thursday denied US accusations it was behind the WannaCry global ransomware cyberattack, saying Washington was demonising it.

WannaCry infected some 300,000 computers in 150 nations in May, encrypting user files and demanding hundreds of dollars from their owners for the keys to get them back.

The White House this week blamed Pyongyang for it, adding its voice to several other countries that had already done so.

A spokesman for Pyongyang's foreign ministry said the US allegations were "absurd", adding: "As we have clearly stated on several occasions, we have nothing to do with cyber-attacks."

Washington had "ulterior" motives, the spokesman added according to the North's KCNA news agency.

North Korea is subject to multiple United Nations sanctions over its banned nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, and tested its third ICBM last month.

Leader Kim Jong-Un declared his country had achieved full nuclear statehood, in a challenge to US President Donald Trump who responded with promises of "major sanctions".

According to experts North Korea's cyber-warfare targets have expanded from the political -- it was accused of hacking into Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2014 to take revenge for "The Interview", a satirical film that mocked Kim -- to the financial, as it seeks new sources of funding.