North Korea denies U.S. accusations of hacking Binance

North Korea dismissed U.S. allegations that it was behind the massive hack of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, calling the claims "absurd rhetoric" and part of an ongoing political campaign, a statement carried by Pyongyang media said.

Beijing? — No. Washington's accusations and North Korea's rebuttal

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation announced on Saturday that North Korea was responsible for a cyberattack in which digital assets worth $6.3 billion were stolen from Binance. The FBI named a North Korea–linked hacking group known as TraderTraitor as responsible for the operation.

Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, responded by accusing the FBI of trying to "brand North Korea as a 'cybercriminal state'" and called the allegations "absurd rhetoric." In a statement carried by state media, she argued the U.S. motive was political.

"The FBI is trying to brand North Korea as a 'cybercriminal state', claiming it has information that a hacker organization supported by North Korea was involved in the incident," Kim said. "Those claims are absurd rhetoric and nothing new," she added.

Kim also described the accusations as "a simple political provocation against North Korea, with which the United States wants to lead international public opinion to the wrong conclusion that all cybercrime in various parts of the world comes from us."

The FBI announcement marks the latest public attribution by U.S. authorities of large-scale cryptocurrency thefts to actors linked to Pyongyang, and it deepens tensions between Washington and Pyongyang over cyber operations and sanctions evasion.

Photo: press material from the event