Pyongyang: North Korea on Tuesday dismissed a recent joint alert issued by South Korea, the United States, Japan, and other countries concerning its information technology workers and cyberactivity, labeling it as "false information" with political motives. According to Yonhap News Agency, the alert accused North Korean IT professionals of using fake credentials to obtain freelance and remote corporate jobs abroad, a claim North Korea strongly refutes.

North Korea's foreign ministry spokesperson, in a statement via the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), criticized the joint warning as a politically charged accusation designed to tarnish the country's image. The statement emphasized that North Korea depends on its skilled IT workforce to generate essential revenue for its weapons programs and called for enhanced identity verification procedures as a countermeasure.

The spokesperson further turned the criticism towards the United States, accusing it of militarizing cyberspace through the expansion of cyberwarfare capabilities and joint exercises with allies. They argued that it is illogical for the U.S., which purportedly possesses the largest cyber force, to speak of cyber threats from other nations. The statement denounced the U.S. and its allies' attempts to dominate cyberspace as a misuse of the cyber threat narrative, insisting it is a pretext for exerting pressure on sovereign states.

The spokesperson concluded by asserting North Korea's commitment to resisting international pressure, stating that the country would not allow politically or ideologically motivated attempts to use cyber issues as a means of criticism and pressure. They pledged to defend the nation's security and development interests across all domains.