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North Korea Offers To Help Investigate The Sony Hack, Threatens The U.S. If We Don't Accept
North Korea, after being implicated in the hack on Sony Pictures earlier this week, has now made an offer to the United States to conduct a joint investigation into the cyber attack in order to prove their innocence.On Saturday, an unidentified North Korean Foreign Ministry representative released a statement that was read on the state-run Korean Central News Agency, saying, "The U.S. should bear in mind that it will face serious consequences in case it rejects our proposal for joint investigation and presses for what it called countermeasures while finding fault with [North Korea.]" On Friday, President Obama said the United States would "respond proportionally" to the attack, but would not specify how.
The statement read on KCNA further added another jab at the United States, stating, "We have a way to prove that we have nothing to do with the case without resorting to torture, as the CIA does."
"They are now talking about a joint investigation because they think there is no conclusive evidence, but the U.S. won't accede to a joint investigation for the crime," Dongguk University professor Koh Yu-hwan told the Associated Press.
The offer from the reclusive state is not unprecedented, according to Koh. Pyongyang has made similar offers before in an effort to feign sincerity, which have routinely been turned down. In 2010, North Korea made a similar effort to investigate the sinking of a South Korean naval ship, which South Korea blames on the North. That offer was also rejected.
The cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment is said to be because of The Interview, a Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy where the two comedians are tasked by the C.I.A. to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. As a result of the hack and threats made by the hackers, the film, which was set to be released on Christmas Day, has been shelved by Sony.
Related:
Sony Swears They Haven't Caved: 'We Would Still Like The Public To See This Movie'
George Clooney Calls Out Hollywood's Cowardice: 'We Have Allowed North Korea To Dictate Content'
The Crazy Things Leaked In Sony Hack, Including Company's Hatred For Their Own Adam Sandler Films
6 More Juicy Leaks From The Sony Hack
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