North Korea has denied any involvement in the record-breaking Binance cryptocurrency heist, dismissing the FBI’s attribution of the theft to North Korean hackers as a “trite provocation” and “absurd rhetoric.”
The denial came in a statement carried by North Korea’s state news agency KCNA on 2 November and reported internationally on 3 November, from Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a senior Workers’ Party official.
“This is not the first time that the U.S. has attempted to spread misunderstanding of the DPRK in the international community, blindly linking the DPRK with the ‘cyber crime’ incidents whenever they occur on an international scale,” Kim said, using the abbreviation of North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
She added: “On this occasion, we confirmed Washington’s hostile attitude toward the DPRK once again and are closely monitoring a variety of persistent provocations of the U.S. against our state.”
What the FBI alleged
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, said last Friday that hackers stole more than $6 billion in what appears to be the largest cryptocurrency heist on record. The FBI later said the theft was orchestrated by North Korean hackers, attributing the attack to a hacking group known as TraderTraitor.
The FBI said the same group was behind the $1.5 billion hack of the Bybit exchange last year. It urged crypto businesses to block transactions linked to addresses named in its alert.
Emadan’s coverage of the FBI attribution
Pyongyang’s statement did not address the specific wallet evidence cited by blockchain analytics firms that have backed the attribution. Secondary reports note that Chainalysis has expressed a high degree of confidence in North Korean responsibility, but the FBI has not, in the sources reviewed for this article, published its underlying evidence. The denial and the attribution therefore remain in direct conflict, and neither side’s claim should be read as proven by the other side’s statement alone.
Why the denial matters beyond the $6 billion
The dispute is about more than one theft. Outside experts cited by the Associated Press say North Korea has increasingly turned to cryptocurrency theft and other illicit cyber activities as a source of foreign currency, helping sustain its economy and fund its nuclear programme despite stringent US-led sanctions.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that North Korea’s illicit cyber activities pose an increasing threat to the global digital economy and that Seoul was closely cooperating with the United States and the broader international community to address the threat.
Kim Yo Jong’s statement also carried a warning about the wider relationship. “We have issues to reconsider in diverse aspects as regards the very unpleasant U.S. hostile attitude,” she said, without specifying what steps, if any, Pyongyang would take.
What is still unknown
Three questions remain open. First, whether US authorities will publish evidence supporting the TraderTraitor attribution. Second, whether any frozen or recovered funds can be traced in a way that settles the attribution dispute publicly. Third, whether Pyongyang’s warning of reconsidering its attitude toward Washington leads to any concrete diplomatic step.
Until one of those happens, the honest summary is this: the FBI has attributed the heist to North Korea, North Korea has denied it in the strongest terms, and the public record does not yet settle which account is correct. Emadan will update this article if either side publishes supporting evidence or if Binance or US authorities issue a further statement.
Sources
- Associated Press via La Nación: “North Korea denies involvement in Binance hack and criticizes FBI probe as ‘a trite provocation'” — https://www.lanacion.com.ar/usa/north-korea-denies-involvement-in-binance-hack-and-criticizes-fbi-probe-as-a-trite-provocation-nid02112026/
- Reuters via Clash Report: “North Korea Denies $6.3 Billion Binance Heist, Calls It Fabrication” — https://clashreport.com/world/articles/north-korea-denies-binance-heist-calls-us-claims-absurd-fabrication-3su91lagb8b
- The Economic Times (AP): “‘A trite provocation’: North Korea denies involvement in $6 billion Binance hack, criticizes FBI probe” — https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/a-trite-provocation-north-korea-denies-involvement-in-6-billion-binance-hack-criticizes-fbi-probe/articleshow/135478331.cms
- The News (Pakistan): “North Korea dismisses FBI blame for record $6.3B Binance heist as ‘absurd rhetoric'” — https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1422268-north-korea-dismisses-fbi-blame-for-record-63b-binance-heist-as-absurd-rhetoric
FAQ
Q: Who denied the Binance hack allegation, and what did they say?
A: Kim Yo Jong, a senior North Korean official and sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said in a KCNA-carried statement that the FBI’s claim was a “trite provocation” and “absurd rhetoric.”
Q: What did the FBI allege?
A: The FBI said North Korean hackers, under the group name TraderTraitor, were responsible for stealing more than $6 billion from Binance, and said the same group was behind last year’s $1.5 billion Bybit hack.
Q: Has the attribution been proven publicly?
A: Not in the sources reviewed for this article. Blockchain firms have expressed high confidence, but the FBI has not published its underlying evidence, and North Korea has denied the claim outright. The two accounts remain in conflict.
