North Korea urges US to lift sanctions

North Korea Thursday urged the US to lift its sanctions and denied having anything to do with the Sony Pictures' hacking incident.

The US Dec 2, 2014 announced retaliatory sanctions against Pyongyang in response to the alleged cyber attack on Sony after it produced a comedy film "The Interview" about a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Three North Korean entities and 10 officials were added to the US sanctions list.

"The US should lift all unreasonable sanctions against North Korea in all fields," the National Defence Commission (NDC) said in a statement.

The newly imposed sanctions are based on the "inveterate hostility and repugnancy" towards North Korea, the statement said, denying the country's responsibility for the Sony hack.

The sanctions were imposed "without any sure ground", the NDC said, also threatening a military action against the US.

"We have already declared the toughest counteraction against the outrageous hostile acts the US has perpetrated against North Korea, it has never experienced a hail of bullets and shells on its own territory," it said.