North Korea is continuing to deny any involvement with the devastating cyber attack on Sony Pictures. But the entire affair just got even stranger: foreign ministry officials have announced through the government's state-run news agency that "we propose a joint investigation with [the US] into this incident." The government then warned that there will be "grave consequences" if the US continues its "groundless slander" of North Korea and rejects its proposal of a joint investigation. Officials also added, "Without resorting to such tortures as were used by the CIA, we have means to prove that this incident has nothing to do with us."

North Korea calls accusations "groundless slander"

White House National Security Council spokesperson Mark Stroh responded to North Korea's denial in a statement released today. "We are confident the North Korean government is responsible for this destructive attack." He added, "If the North Korean government wants to help, they can admit their culpability and compensate Sony for the damages this attack caused."

The statement is the first response from North Korea since President Obama addressed the hack with the press, vowing that "we will respond, we will respond proportionally, and in a place and time that we choose." He also criticized Sony's decision to yank The Interview, saying that "We cannot have a society where some dictator someplace can start imposing censorship here in the United States." President Obama's statement came yesterday just hours after the FBI announced that it had concluded that North Korea was the agent behind the hack on Sony Pictures.

Update, December 20th, 3:46PM ET: Updated to add statement from a US spokesperson in response to North Korea's denial.