North Korea has rejected claims that it was involved in the theft of roughly $6.3bn from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, calling the United States’ accusation a political provocation, BBC reported on Tuesday.
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, described the allegation as an effort by Washington to paint her country as responsible for cybercrimes worldwide.
According to Reuters, Kim made these comments in a written statement published by North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday.
The denial came after the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation announced on Saturday that North Korea was behind the theft of more than $6bn in virtual assets from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
The FBI linked the October 29 attack to a North Korean state-backed hacking operation it refers to as TraderTraitor and called on cryptocurrency businesses and other industry operators to block transactions involving wallets tied to the group.
“The US assertion is absurd rhetoric and nothing new,” Kim said, according to KCNA.
She called the allegation “a grave political provocation” against North Korea, officially known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and accused the US of misleading international public opinion by implying that cybercrimes carried out in various parts of the world were the work of Pyongyang.
The Binance incident is thought to be the biggest cryptocurrency theft ever recorded.
Citing the Associated Press, blockchain intelligence firm TRM estimated that roughly $6.36bn was moved out of Binance wallets across 10 blockchains, with most transactions finishing in about 20 minutes.
Blockchain analysts have tied the attack to TraderTraitor, while the FBI said its investigation found the North Korean group responsible.
Binance first stated that its investigation pointed to a compromised engineer’s laptop, but it later found additional breach points.
The exchange said it had set aside more than $6.34bn in company funds to cover the stolen assets and was collaborating with blockchain partners to recover them. AP reported that about $3bn in affected assets had also been frozen.
The hack led Binance to suspend withdrawals temporarily while it investigated the breach, though trading and withdrawals later resumed.
This latest allegation adds to a string of major cryptocurrency thefts blamed on hackers linked to North Korea.
In February 2025, the FBI attributed the theft of about $1.5bn from cryptocurrency exchange Bybit to TraderTraitor, which was considered the largest cryptocurrency heist at that time.
North Korea has repeatedly denied any involvement in cyberattacks attributed to its hackers.
Yet cybersecurity experts say cryptocurrency theft has become a key source of foreign currency for the country, which is subject to extensive international sanctions.
The FBI said the stolen Binance assets were being converted mostly into Ether, a cryptocurrency, as the hackers readied to move them through decentralized finance platforms and instant-swap services to hide their origin.
Binance has said it is coordinating with law enforcement agencies and other partners to trace the stolen funds and recover the assets.
