A North Korean man has been charged and sanctioned over the global WannaCry cyber-attack that crippled the NHS .
Park Jin Hyok is also charged in connection with the 2014 hack on Sony Corp, US officials said.
The charges are part of a strategy by the US government to deter future cyberattacks by naming and shaming the alleged perpetrators.
It is also alleged that the North Korean hacker broke into the central bank of Bangladesh in 2016, according to a criminal complaint.
Park worked as part of a team of hackers, also known as the Lazarus Group, behind the WannaCry attack that hit hospitals, banks and companies worldwide in May 2017.
There were 47 NHS trusts it by the attack that sent computer systems into meltdown.
It affected more than 200,000 computers in 150 countries using 27 languages.
The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions against Park and the Chinese-based front company he worked for, Chosun Expo.
The North Korean mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
North Korea ‘was behind huge WannaCry cyber-attack’ that crippled the NHS and caused chaos across the world
North Korean government representatives could not be immediately reached for comment.
The country has repeatedly denied responsibility for WannaCry and called other allegations about cyber attacks a smear campaign.
Lazarus Group is widely believed by security researchers and US officials to have been responsible for the 2014 hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which destroyed files, leaked corporate communications online and led to the departure of several top studio executives.
Sony also suspended release of a comedy film that portrayed North Korea’s ruler, Kim Jong-un, because of threats issued by the hackers.
Park used a series of online personas for social media platforms, including on Facebook and Twitter , to send malicious links to individuals involved in the production of "The Interview," the complaint said.
The malicious links carried North Korean-controlled malware.
Then-President Barack Obama condemned Pyongyang for the Sony hack, vowing at the time to "respond proportionally." No indictments have been brought in the Sony case.
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In November 2014, Park allegedly launched the same style social media-focused attack against employees of AMC Theatres .
The movie theatre chain in some cases delayed or canceled screenings of "The Interview" nationwide, Variety at the time reported. The complaint said there was no evidence AMC Theatres was breached.
Many security researchers, including the cyber firm Symantec , as well as the UK government, concluded that North Korea was behind the WannaCry attack, which quickly unfurled across the globe to infect more than 300,000 computers in 150 countries.
Considered unprecedented in scale at the time, WannaCry knocked UK hospitals offline, forcing thousands of patients to reschedule appointments and disrupted infrastructure and businesses around the world.
The attack originally looked like a ransomware campaign, where hackers encrypt a targeted computer and demand payment to recover files.
John Demers, the Assistant Attorney General of the National Security Division, said on Thursday that this marks the first time the US Justice Department has formally charged a hacker in connection with cyber crimes "sponsored" by the North Korean government.
"The department has charged, arrested and imprisoned hackers working for the governments of China, Russia and Iran. Today, we add the North Korean regime to our list, completing frankly four out of four of our principle adversaries in cyberspace."
A senior Justice Department official said a criminal investigation into Park and his accomplices was still ongoing.
There has been no communication between the US and North Korean government about a possible extradition, the official said.
No North Korean government officials were referenced in the complaint by name, though it does allege the government sponsored the attacks.
The complaint was filed under seal on June 8, just days before a historic summit in Singapore between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
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