North Korea denies involvement in $6 billion Binance hack — Euronews

North Korea has rejected claims by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation that North Korean hackers were involved in the theft of $6 billion from the Binance cryptocurrency platform. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, called the FBI’s statements a serious political provocation, Euronews reports.

FBI statement and Pyongyang’s reaction

On Saturday, the FBI said that the North Korea-linked hacker group TraderTraitor was behind the attack on Binance. According to Michael Bosack, founder of the Parley Policy Institute and a former official at the UN Command, the amount stolen could equal nearly one-quarter of North Korea’s estimated annual GDP. He also suggested that Pyongyang responded to the accusations because of the significant international attention to the incident.

Kim Yo Jong called the US agency’s claims absurd rhetoric and mentioned previous accusations by Washington concerning an attack on the Bybit crypto platform. A 2024 UN report stated that North Korea’s proceeds from cyberattacks reportedly helped finance the country’s development of weapons of mass destruction.

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Cruise missile tests

In addition, North Korea reported the launch on Monday of strategic cruise missiles equipped with a new cluster warhead. The state-run Korean Central News Agency said the test was intended to improve the missile’s ability to strike a target vertically by enhancing maneuverability during the final stage of flight.

Lim Eul Chul, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, told AFP that such missiles could strike key military infrastructure in South Korea and the United States, including runways, radar bases, and air defense positions. South Korea’s military did not announce the launch of cruise missiles. Commenting on reports of Sunday’s test, it said that Seoul and Washington were conducting a detailed analysis of its characteristics and parameters. Unlike ballistic missiles, North Korea’s tests of cruise missiles are not prohibited by UN Security Council sanctions.