CRI听力:US Urges N Korea to Compensate for Hacking

The United States is calling on North Korea to compensate Sony Pictures for damages caused by the hacking of the company's computers and release of confidential information.

State Department spokesperson Marie Harf.

"The government of North Korea has a long history of denying its destructive and provocative actions and if they want to help here they can admit their culpability and compensate Sony for the damage, damages that they caused."

US federal investigators have claimed North Korea is behind the attack, but the north has denied a role in the hack.

The North Korean government also proposed a joint investigation into the case, which was rejected by the White House.

Also on Monday, China expressed opposition to countries or individuals that launch cyber attacks.

The comments came amid reports that the US has asked for China's help over the Sony incident.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.

"China has always been opposed to all forms of cyber attacks and cyber terrorism. We oppose the efforts of any government or individual to use the facilities in another country's territory to launch cyber attacks on a third country. That position is consistent and clear. China would like to engage in constructive cooperation with the international community in cyber security on the basis of mutual respect and mutual trust."

Meanwhile, North Korea has been experiencing sweeping and progressively worse Internet outages, with one computer expert saying the country's online access is "totally down."

The White House and the US State Department have declined to say whether the U.S. government is responsible.