North Korea blames US, South for cyberattack 'sabotage'

North Korea has accused the U.S. of staging cyberattacks aimed at infiltrating its Internet servers.

As reported by Reuters, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK as the country is officially known, believes that the United States is to blame for a set of cyberattacks which caused disruption to its main news services.

The cyberattacks in question caused disruption to a number of online services, temporarily killing access to service websites including the KCNA news agency and state Rodong Sinmun newspaper. On Friday, the Korean Central News Agency commented:

"It is nobody's secret that the U.S. and the South Korean puppet regime are massively bolstering up cyber forces in a bid to intensify the subversive activities and sabotages against the DPRK. Intensive and persistent virus attacks are being made every day on Internet servers operated by the DPRK."

The KCNA also said that both parties "will have to take the responsibility for the whole consequences."

North Korea, itself, has been blamed for spreading malicious software which aimed to bring down global governmental bodies and corporations. In 2011, the country was accused of launching a cyberattack against South Korea which crashed approximately half of the servers belonging to a South Korean bank, which destroyed key data and prevented customers from accessing their funds for several days. Kim Young-dae, a prosecutor who was in charge of the investigation that followed, called it an "unprecedented act of cyberterror involving North Korea."

North Korea in turn says that its Southern rival is fuelling the flames of confrontation with these kinds of accusations, although defectors from the country have warned that thousands of computer engineers in Pyongyang have been recruited for cyberwarfare, according to the publication.

The accusation comes at an interesting time, as the U.S. begins serious talks with China over allegations that it is one of the main sources of cyberattacks. For the first time this week, U.S. intelligence agencies said that cyberattacks are now a concern that tops terrorism in terms of national security, and measures must be taken to combat such threats.