The US Justice Department has charged a North Korean hacker for allegedly aiding in the Wannacry ransomware attacks, the 2014 hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and numerous other international cyber attacks and break-ins.

Federal officials charged North Korean citizen Park Jin Hyok on Thursday with one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse, as well as one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The government also announced plans to sanction Mr Park and his alleged employer, the Chosun Expo Joint Venture, as part of a broader move to publicise the identities of  alleged perpetrators.

The US alleges Mr Park worked as a computer programmer for Chosun Expo Joint Venture – a wing of the North Korean military. A criminal complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court in June, and unsealed on Thursday, alleges Mr Park and the Joint Venture sought to “conduct multiple destructive cyber attacks around the world” in support of the North Korean government.

The largest of those attacks – the 2017 Wannacry ransomware attack – affected more than 230,000 computers and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damages around the world. Among the highest-profile targets was the UK’s National Health System, which was forced to cancel thousands of appointments after its systems were infected.

The Justice Department said on Thursday that the North Korean team both developed the ransomware and propagated the attacks.