--- description: A North Korean diplomat said blame on his country was a "fabrication" title: North Korean Diplomat Denies His Country Hacked Sony image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt387c4c07f85368d2/69876caae53aba6c5d4d6515/sony-hack1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # North Korean Diplomat Denies His Country Hacked Sony by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 4, 2014 5:12 PM CUT  Kazuo Hirai president and CEO of Sony Corp. speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Nov. 18, 2014. Kazuo Hirai president and CEO of Sony Corp. speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Nov. 18, 2014.Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 4, 2014 5:12 PM CUT A North Korean diplomat [denied](The%20North%20Korean diplomat said the idea that his country was responsible for the attack is a "undefined") his country was responsible for a massive cyberattack on Sony Pictures, putting him in contrast with another official who elected [not to issue such a denial](http://time.com/3613203/north-korea-sony-pictures-hack/ "undefined") two days ago. The film and television giant suffered a hack that led to Sony’s corporate email and other key systems crashing. Sensitive data was also released in the hack, including about 6,000 employees’ and executives’ salaries. Some reports have tied North Korea to the attack, as Sony is about to release a comedy about an attempt to assassinate the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un. North Korea has called the film, titled _The Interview_, an “act of war.” But an unnamed North Korean diplomat told [Voice of America](The%20North Korean diplomat said the idea that his country was responsible for the attack is a "undefined") that the idea of a North Korean link to the Sony hack is a “fabrication.” “Linking the DPRK to the Sony hacking is another fabrication targeting the country,” said the official. “My country publicly declared that it would follow international norms banning hacking and piracy.” Despite the diplomat’s claims, [Re/code reports](http://recode.net/2014/12/03/sony-to-officially-name-north-korea-as-source-of-hack-attack/ "undefined") that Sony is preparing to officially name North Korea as the source of the hack, though Sony denied this. Similar attacks to the one launched against Sony have been linked to North Korea. \[[_Voice of America_](http://www.voanews.com/content/exclusive-north-korea-denies-involvement-in-cyber-attack-sony-pictures/2545372.html. "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3618208/north-korea-sony/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3618208/north-korea-sony/"},"headline":"North Korean Diplomat Denies His Country Hacked Sony","datePublished":"2014-12-04T17:12:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:03:51.306Z","description":"A North Korean diplomat said blame on his country was a \"fabrication\"","url":"https://time.com/3618208/north-korea-sony/","keywords":["Tech","North Korea","Security"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt387c4c07f85368d2/69876caae53aba6c5d4d6515/sony-hack1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt387c4c07f85368d2/69876caae53aba6c5d4d6515/sony-hack1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Sony Hack","caption":"Sony Hack","creditText":"Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3618208/north-korea-sony/","name":"North Korean Diplomat Denies His Country Hacked Sony"}}]}] ```