North Korea has rejected allegations that it orchestrated the record $6.3 billion cryptocurrency hack targeting Binance, describing the accusations as “absurd rhetoric” and a politically motivated attempt by Washington to damage its international reputation.
Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, issued a statement on Tuesday accusing the United States of attempting to discredit Pyongyang by linking it to major cybercrimes.
The denial follows allegations by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Secret Service and cybersecurity analysts that North Korean hackers were responsible for the attack, described as the largest cryptocurrency theft in history.
Blockchain investigators and the FBI have attributed the operation to TraderTraitor, a hacking group believed to have links to the North Korean state.
The FBI has urged cryptocurrency companies and other industry partners to identify and block transactions involving digital wallets associated with the suspected hackers, in an effort to prevent the movement of stolen assets.
“The US has made a trite provocation of linking it with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea again,” Kim Yo Jong said, referring to North Korea by its official name.
“It is a grave political provocation against the DPRK that the US misleads the international public opinion as if all the cyber crimes in different parts of the world are our deeds,” she added.
Kim described the accusations as another “sinister attempt” to undermine North Korea’s public image.
The allegations come amid longstanding concerns among Western governments and cybersecurity researchers that North Korea uses sophisticated cyber operations to generate revenue for its heavily sanctioned economy.
North Korean hacking groups have previously been accused of targeting cryptocurrency exchanges, financial institutions and other digital platforms to obtain funds.
TraderTraitor, which has been associated with the wider Lazarus hacking network, was also blamed for the $1.5 billion cryptocurrency theft from exchange Bybit in 2025, which was considered the largest such attack at the time.
Research organisations, including Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, have reported that North Korea has systematically developed its cyber capabilities by recruiting talented university students and assigning them to specialised hacking units overseen by the country’s intelligence services.
Pyongyang has consistently denied allegations that it sponsors international cybercrime.
The latest dispute adds to tensions between Washington and North Korea, with US authorities maintaining their allegations against state-linked hackers while Pyongyang insists it has been unfairly blamed for cyberattacks around the world.