North Korea has denied responsibility for the theft of more than $6.3bn from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, dismissing the United States’ accusation as a political provocation.
Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said the allegation was an attempt by Washington to portray Pyongyang as responsible for cybercrimes around the world.
Kim made the remarks in a written statement carried by North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday, following an announcement by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation that North Korea was behind the October 29 attack.
The FBI attributed the theft to TraderTraitor, a North Korean state-backed hacking group, and urged cryptocurrency businesses and other industry operators to block transactions involving wallets linked to the group.
“The US assertion is absurd rhetoric and nothing new,” Kim said, describing the allegation as “a grave political provocation” against North Korea, formally known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
She accused the US of misleading international public opinion by suggesting that cybercrimes committed in different parts of the world were the work of Pyongyang.
The Binance incident is believed to be the largest cryptocurrency theft on record.
Blockchain intelligence firm TRM estimated that about $6.36bn was transferred from Binance wallets across 10 blockchains, with most of the transactions completed within approximately 20 minutes, according to the Associated Press.
Binance initially said its investigation indicated that an engineer’s laptop might have been compromised before identifying additional points of breach.
The exchange said it had reserved more than $6.34bn in company funds to cover the stolen assets and was working with blockchain partners to recover them. About $3bn in affected assets had also been frozen, AP reported.
The hack forced Binance to temporarily suspend withdrawals while it investigated the breach, although trading and withdrawals later resumed.
Binance resumes withdrawals after $6.3bn crypto heist
The latest accusation adds to a series of major cryptocurrency thefts linked by US authorities to North Korean hackers.
In February 2025, the FBI blamed TraderTraitor for stealing about $1.5bn from cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, which was then considered the largest cryptocurrency heist on record.
North Korea has repeatedly denied involvement in cyberattacks attributed to its hackers, while cybersecurity experts have identified cryptocurrency theft as a significant source of foreign currency for the country amid extensive international sanctions.
The FBI said the stolen Binance assets were being converted mainly into Ether as the hackers prepared to move them through decentralised finance platforms and instant-swap services to conceal their origin.
Binance said it was working with law enforcement agencies and other partners to trace the stolen funds and recover the assets.
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