North Korea denies South Korean hacking claims

(AP) -- North Korea has denied allegations by South Korea that it engaged in a hacking scheme to steal millions of dollars from online gaming sites.

The North's Committee for Peaceful Unification of the Fatherland said in a statement carried Sunday by the official Korean Central News Agency that the allegations were an unacceptable provocation and were meant to sully North Korea's image overseas.

Last week, South Korean police said they arrested five people who had collaborated with elite North Korean hackers in a ring that pocketed about $6 million over the past year and a half.

South Korean authorities have also accused North Korea of mounting cyberattacks in the past few years. The North has also denied those charges.

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