North Korea denies role in massive Binance hack, calling US claims a provocation
North Korea has rejected allegations tying it to the $6.3 billion Binance hack, with senior official Kim Yo Jong calling the FBI's accusations an "absurd" political provocation and hinting at U.S. involvement.
North Korea has denied involvement in the multi-billion-dollar exploit of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, dismissing U.S. allegations as a "fabrication" and "absurd rhetoric." In comments carried by state news agency KCNA, Kim Yo Jong, sister of leader Kim Jong Un and a senior Workers' Party official, called the attribution a "grave political provocation" aimed at branding North Korea as a cybercriminal state.[2][3][4][7]
The denial followed an alert issued by the FBI, which attributed the theft of more than $6 billion from Binance on or about Oct. 29 to the North Korean hacking group TraderTraitor. Blockchain analytics firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis similarly pointed to North Korea following on-chain tracing. According to the FBI, the attackers converted the stolen funds primarily into ether, prompting U.S. authorities to warn that the assets could be laundered through decentralized finance platforms and instant swap services.[1][4][5]
Kim deflected the accusations back toward Washington, pointing to U.S. plans to maintain a strategic cryptocurrency reserve. Without offering evidence, she argued that examining who ultimately receives the stolen cryptocurrency once retrieved could offer "a clue about who is behind the hacking incident." She also cited previous U.S. claims blaming North Korea for the roughly $1.5 billion Bybit hack in early 2025, adding that Pyongyang is closely monitoring American actions.[1][3][4]
Key facts
- North Korean state media KCNA published a statement dismissing claims that Pyongyang carried out the Binance hack as a "fabrication" and "absurd rhetoric."
- Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, labeled the FBI's accusations a "grave political provocation."
- The FBI attributed the theft of over $6 billion from Binance around Oct. 29 to the North Korean hacking group TraderTraitor.
- Blockchain analytics firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis also attributed the Binance breach to North Korea's TraderTraitor group.
- Kim suggested without evidence that the U.S. could be behind the attack, pointing to Trump administration policies regarding a strategic crypto reserve for forfeited assets.
- The FBI reported that the stolen funds were converted primarily into ether and warned of laundering via DeFi platforms and instant swap services.
Sources · 7 sources
- LD
Lark Davis@LarkDavisPost on X ·
𝗣𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝘄𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 $𝟲.𝟯𝗕 𝗕𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗰𝗸: 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗞𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗮 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗦. Kim Yo Jong (Kim Jong Un’s sister) just dismissed the FBI’s accusations as “absurd rhetoric” and a “grave political provocation.” She then pointed to the Trump admin’s plan to seize stolen crypto for a strategic reserve and said that whoever ends up with the recovered funds “may get a clue about who is behind the hacking incident.” Meanwhile, the FBI, TRM Labs, and Chainalysis are still pointing squarely at North Korea’s TraderTraitor group. Well, we all know the government is robbing us via money printing, but this one? Hmmm.
Open source - *B
*Walter Bloomberg@DeItaonePost on X ·
NORTH KOREA SAYS CLAIMS THAT IT WAS BEHIND BINANCE HEIST IS "FABRICATION"
Open source - TB
The Block@TheBlockCoPost on X ·
NEW: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong, denied Pyongyang's involvement in the $6.3 billion Binance hack, calling the FBI's attribution of the attack to a North Korean-linked hacking group "baseless nonsense." In comments carried by state media KCNA, Kim Yo-jong accused Washington of repeatedly attempting to portray North Korea as a state sponsor of cybercrime, citing previous U.S. allegations over the $1.5 billion Bybit hack.
Open source - UN
UnchainedArticle ·
Kim Yo Jong Ties FBI’s Binance Hack Blame to Trump’s Crypto Reserve Kim Yo Jong , a senior official of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, said the international community should look at who stands to receive the crypto taken from Binance once it is recovered, hinting that Washington could be behind the hack, as Pyongyang dismissed the FBI’s finding that its hackers carried out the theft. The statement, released Nov. 2 through KCNA, is North Korea’s first comment on the incident, according to South Korean broadcaster SBS. Kim called the U.S. position “an absurd rhetoric and nothing new” and said blaming her country for cyber crimes worldwide was a “grave political provocation.” She then urged the international community to recall that the Trump administration announced soon after taking office last year that it would seize stolen crypto and keep it as a strategic reserve. “If it carefully examines who will get the large amount of the so-called stolen cryptocurrency when the latter is retrieved, it may get a clue about who is behind the hacking incident,” she said. The statement offered no evidence for that suggestion and did not mention the onchain tracing by TRM Labs and Chainalysis that preceded the FBI’s alert . Get Unchained’s crypto news in your inbox with the free Unchained Daily newsletter . What the FBI Said The FBI said in an Oct. 31 alert that North Korea was behind the theft of more than $6 billion from Binance on or about Oct. 29, activity it tracks as TraderTraitor , and that the hackers were converting the stolen assets primarily into ether, as Unchained reported earlier. Kim also said the U.S. “tried to blame the DPRK” last year for the Bybit hack . The FBI attributed that roughly $1.5 billion theft to North Korea in February 2025, tying it to TraderTraitor. How the Reserve Works The executive order Trump signed on March 6, 2025, capitalizes the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve with bitcoin the government has finally forfeited in criminal or civil proceedings or collected as civil penalties. It also lets the attorney general or another agency head return forfeited assets to “identifiable and verifiable victims of crime” instead of holding them. Other forfeited tokens, such as ether, which the FBI says the hackers converted most of the stolen funds into, go to a separate Digital Asset Stockpile. Kim closed by saying Pyongyang is “closely monitoring” U.S. moves against it and has “issues to reconsider in diverse aspects” without naming them. Related Listen: Why the White House’s Hack-Back Memo Leaves North Korea Off the List The post Kim Yo Jong Ties FBI’s Binance Hack Blame to Trump’s Crypto Reserve appeared first on Unchained .
Open source - WB
Wu Blockchain@WuBlockchainPost on X ·
Kim Jong Un's Sister Denies North Korea's Role in $6.3 Billion Binance Hack Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, denied Pyongyang's involvement in the $6.3 billion hack of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, calling the FBI's accusations "absurd rhetoric" and a "grave political provocation," according to state media KCNA. The FBI previously attributed the October 29 attack to North Korean hacking group TraderTraitor, saying the stolen assets were being converted primarily into ETH and could be further laundered through DeFi platforms and instant swap services. U.S. authorities have urged crypto exchanges and other service providers to block transactions linked to the stolen funds.
Open source - RE
Reuters@ReutersPost on X ·
North Korea says US allegations linking it to Binance heist are 'absurd rhetoric,' KCNA says https://t.co/SnN3BAYjAA
Open source - DE
Decrypt@DecryptMediaPost on X ·
North Korea Dismisses FBI's Binance Hack Attribution as "Absurd Rhetoric." Kim Yo Jong, sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said in a statement carried by state media KCNA that the FBI is trying to "brand the DPRK as a 'cyber criminal state'" over the Binance theft. https://t.co/2dzMsQVmbO
Open source