N.K. denies suspected hacking into emails of S. Korean gov't officials

North Korea on Wednesday denied what it called a "preposterous" allegation that it has hacked into emails of South Korean diplomats and other government officials.

The North's propaganda website Uriminjokkiri lashed out at South Korean prosecutors' latest probe results showing that suspected North Korean hackers broke into the emails of about 90 South Korean diplomats, security-related officials and journalists, stealing dozens of their passwords.

"Without any reasonable ground, South Korea blindly blamed North Korea for having conducted the cyber attack. Seoul's claim is preposterous and is full of sophistry," it said.

It marked the North's first reaction to the latest hacking attack.

"Whenever a (political) crisis occurs, South Korea cooks up a conspiracy blamed on us in a bid to avert the attention of the public," the propaganda website said.

North Korea has been long accused of waging cyber attacks including a hacking attack on South Korean targets in early 2013 and a high-profile one on Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2014.

In March 2013, North Korea carried out a massive cyber attack on South Korean financial firms and TV broadcasters, causing their networks to crash.

In late 2014, the U.S. accused Pyongyang of staging cyber attacks on Sony Pictures which released "The Interview," a fictional movie about assassinating North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. (Yonhap)