Aditya DidwaniyaNorth Korea has pushed back against accusations that it carried out the massive $6.3bn (£4.7bn) hack on crypto exchange Binance, branding the claims “absurd rhetoric”.
North Korea Calls Out US Accusations
North Korea has firmly rejected claims linking it to the biggest cryptocurrency theft in history. The $6.3bn hack targeted exchange giant Binance, and officials in Pyongyang are calling the accusations baseless.
Kim Yo Jong, a senior official in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and sister to leader Kim Jong Un, spoke out on Tuesday. She described the claims as yet another “sinister attempt” by Washington to tarnish her country’s reputation.
US agencies have pointed the finger squarely at Pyongyang. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Secret Service, and independent cyber experts all say North Korea was behind the breach, which stands as the largest hack ever recorded.
A Pattern of Cyber Crime Allegations
This isn’t the first time North Korea has faced such accusations. The nation has repeatedly been linked to cyber crime as a way to fund its heavily sanctioned economy.
Investigators have traced the attack to TraderTraitor, a hacking group with ties to the North Korean state. Both blockchain analysts and the FBI have named this group as responsible.
The FBI is now urging companies across the crypto industry to help freeze and block any transactions connected to accounts tied to the group.
Kim Yo Jong, who serves as director of North Korea’s General Affairs Department, issued a strongly worded statement in response. She said, “The US has made a trite provocation of linking it with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea again.”
She added, ”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.”
Pyongyang’s History With Major Cyber Attacks
Despite the denials, North Korea has been blamed for several high profile cyber attacks over the years. The country has consistently pushed back against every one of these accusations.
The same TraderTraitor unit, better known as the Lazarus Group, was previously blamed for hacking crypto exchange Bybit. That 2025 attack stole $1.5bn and held the record for the biggest crypto hack at the time.
Researchers say North Korea has steadily built up its hacking capabilities over the years. According to think tanks like the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, the regime recruits talented university students for this purpose.
These recruits are reportedly placed into specialised hacker units. These units operate under the direct oversight of North Korea’s intelligence agency.
Kim Yo Jong reiterated her government’s official stance on the matter. She stated, ”It is the consistent policy stand of the DPRK government to resolutely oppose all sorts of malicious acts in cyberspace.”
Binance’s Response to the Breach
Since the hack occurred, Binance has mostly focused its public updates on technical details. The exchange has been explaining how the breach happened and what steps it’s taking to protect users.
According to the company, early investigations point to a compromised laptop belonging to an engineer. This breach reportedly allowed the attacker to carry out unauthorised withdrawals from the platform.
Trading in major cryptocurrencies has since resumed on Binance. The exchange worked closely with token issuers to freeze assets affected by the breach.
Binance revealed on Sunday that customers withdrew over $3.6bn in assets. This happened once the exchange reopened following a complete suspension of transactions after the hack.
The company has repeatedly promised to cover all losses tied to the attack. So far, Binance says it has reimbursed around 95% of the total assets stolen during the breach.
Akshay Didwaniya
Pratik Agrawal
Mayur Mohta