North Korea’s state-run Uriminzokkiri news site denied responsibility for hacking South Korean smartphones, criticizing the South’s accusations as the latest in a series of “schemes” to slander the North.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported to the parliamentary intelligence committee last Wednesday that more than 20,000 phones were infected with malware downloaded from a disguised game application from May to September.

Infected devices are susceptible to wiretapping and clandestine videotaping, according to the South Korean media.

Uriminzokkirisaid that these wrongful accusations follow the line of the “Don’t ask, it’s the North’s fault” rhetoric that the South Korean government