North Korea has rejected allegations by the United States that it was responsible for the theft of approximately $6.3bn from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, describing the accusation as a politically motivated attempt to damage the country’s reputation.
Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, dismissed the claims in a written statement published by the country’s state-run Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday.
According to reports by the BBC and Reuters, Kim accused Washington of attempting to portray North Korea as responsible for cybercrimes occurring across different parts of the world.
The denial followed an announcement by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation on Saturday, blaming North Korea for stealing more than $6bn in digital assets from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
The FBI attributed the October 29 attack to a North Korean state-backed hacking group known as TraderTraitor. It also urged cryptocurrency companies and other industry operators to prevent transactions involving digital wallets associated with the group.
Describing Washington’s allegation as unreasonable, Kim said the US statement was an old political tactic and accused the country of misleading international public opinion.
The Binance incident is believed to be the largest cryptocurrency theft ever recorded.
Blockchain intelligence firm TRM estimated that approximately $6.36bn was moved from Binance wallets across 10 different blockchains, with most of the transactions reportedly completed within 20 minutes, according to the Associated Press.
Blockchain analysts had linked the attack to TraderTraitor, while the FBI said its investigations confirmed the group’s involvement.
Binance initially disclosed that an engineer’s laptop might have been compromised during the attack but later identified additional points of security breaches.
The cryptocurrency exchange said it had set aside more than $6.34bn in company funds to cover the stolen assets while working with blockchain partners to recover the money. It also reported that approximately $3bn worth of affected assets had been frozen.
The incident forced Binance to temporarily suspend withdrawals while investigations into the breach were underway. Trading and withdrawal services were subsequently restored.
The latest accusation comes amid several major cryptocurrency thefts previously linked to North Korean hackers.
In February 2025, the FBI also blamed the TraderTraitor group for stealing approximately $1.5bn from cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, which was then considered the largest cryptocurrency heist on record.
North Korea has consistently denied involvement in cyberattacks attributed to hackers linked to the country.
However, cybersecurity experts have maintained that cryptocurrency theft has become an important source of foreign currency for Pyongyang, which continues to face extensive international sanctions.
The FBI further disclosed that the stolen Binance assets were mainly being converted into Ether, with the hackers reportedly preparing to move the funds through decentralised finance platforms and instant-swap services to conceal their origins.
Binance said it was continuing to collaborate with law enforcement agencies and other partners to trace the stolen funds and recover the assets.
Source: Punch
