Russia on Thursday offered sympathy to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea amid the Sony hacking scandal, saying the movie that sparked the dispute was so scandalous that Pyongyang's anger was "quite understandable".

Washington failed to offer any proof to back its claims of Pyongyang's involvement in the hacking, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said, adding that the United States' threats of retaliation were "counterproductive".

The US has blamed Pyongyang for the recent cyberattack on Sony Pictures, the company that produced The Interview, a comedy depicting the assassination of DPRK leader Kim Jong-un. Pyongyang has denied being involved in the hacking, but praised it as a "righteous deed".

Lukashevich said that "the concept of the movie is so aggressive and scandalous, that the reaction of the DPRK side, and not just it, is quite understandable".

He went on to say that Pyongyang had offered to conduct a joint investigation into the incident, adding that the proposal could help ease tensions and reflected a "sincere desire of the North Korean side to study the issue in detail".

Xinhua - AP

(China Daily 12/27/2014 page10)