North Korea has rejected US accusations of involvement in the theft of cryptocurrency worth more than $6 billion from the Binance exchange. The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un — Kim Yo Jong called Washington's statements a political provocation and accused the US of trying to create a negative image of the country.
WHAT PYONGYANG SAID
According to the South Korean agency Yonhap, the statement on behalf of Kim Yo Jong was distributed by North Korea's state news agency KCNA on 3 November.
She criticised the conclusions of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which blamed the North Korean hacking group TraderTraitor for the cryptocurrency theft.
According to Kim Yo Jong, the American side is trying to present the DPRK as a “cybercriminal state”. She called the accusations unfounded and stated that Washington uses such incidents to mislead the international community.
A representative of the North Korean leadership also stated that the accusations constitute a serious political provocation and an infringement on the country's sovereignty in cyberspace.
WHAT THE AMERICAN INVESTIGATION CLAIMS
On 31 October 2026, the FBI published an official statement in which it blamed North Korea for the theft of more than $6 billion from Binance.
The American agency linked the attack to the TraderTraitor group, which had previously also been linked to other major cryptocurrency thefts.
According to the FBI, members of the group began converting the acquired assets primarily into Ethereum (ETH). The American agency warned that the funds may continue to be moved through decentralised finance services and instant cryptocurrency exchange services.
The FBI also published a list of cryptocurrency addresses which, according to the agency, belong to members of TraderTraitor or are closely linked to them. American law enforcement urged cryptocurrency exchanges, blockchain services and other organisations to block transactions associated with them.
WHAT KIM YO JONG ALLOWED FOR
In her statement, Kim Yo Jong said that Pyongyang is closely monitoring Washington's actions. She also warned that North Korea intends to review certain matters in connection with what she called the hostile attitude of the American administration.
In addition, she questioned Washington's motives, stating that the American administration had previously announced its intention to confiscate illegally obtained cryptocurrency assets and use them as a state strategic reserve.
At the same time, Kim Yo Jong provided no evidence of US involvement in the attack.
According to Yonhap, a representative of South Korea's Ministry of Unification noted the unusual nature of the statement. According to him, Pyongyang had previously usually responded to such accusations through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Now, however, the North Korean leader's sister has publicly joined the issue.
CONTEXT
On 30 October, the largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance suffered a large-scale hacker attack. According to a preliminary estimate, the incident affected assets worth about $6.3 billion (around 2.86 trillion tenge). The attackers managed to withdraw most of the funds in approximately 20 minutes.
TRM Labs analysts linked the incident to the TraderTraitor group, which is attributed to North Korean hackers. The specialists found similarities between this attack and previous major breaches of cryptocurrency platforms.
