Pyongyang: North Korea on Friday condemned the US over its recent indictment of four of its nationals on cybercrime charges, calling Washington's action 'an absurd smear campaign' aimed at tarnishing the country's image. 'The real threat of creating international cyberspace instability comes not from the DPRK but from the US,' said the country's Foreign Ministry, referring to the Democratic Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name, state-run Korean Central News Agency reported.

According to Anadolu Agency, the North Korean Foreign Ministry described the incident as an "absurd and groundless slander" and an extension of past US administrations' hostile policies against the DPRK. These policies, the ministry claims, have aggressively promoted a non-existent 'cyber threat' and pose a serious infringement on their sovereignty. The statement, issued in Korean, further criticized the US for its actions.

The reaction followed the announcement by the US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia, which indicted four North Korean nationals for their involvement in a scheme to steal and launder approximately $900,000 in cryptocurrency. The charges include wire fraud and money laundering offenses, and the individuals have been placed on a federal wanted list.

North Korean authorities expressed "grave concern" over the indictments, asserting that the actions by US judicial authorities threatened the safety and rights of their citizens. The ministry accused the US of turning cyberspace into a battlefield, creating a constant threat to the cybersecurity of sovereign nations, including North Korea, and using cyber issues as a political tool to undermine other countries' rights and legitimate actions. The ministry vowed to protect the rights of their citizens in the face of these challenges.