North Korea calls FBI Binance hack claim a provocation

North Korea has rejected the FBI's finding that it was behind the theft of more than $6 billion in cryptocurrency from Binance. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of leader Kim Jong Un, called the US accusation a "grave political provocation." Her statement ran on Tuesday, November 3, in Korea, which was Monday evening in the US, through the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), according to Reuters. It is Pyongyang's first public response to what may be the largest crypto heist on record.reuters.com

"It is a grave political provocation against the DPRK that the U.S. misleads the international public opinion as if all the cyber crimes in different parts of the world are our deeds," Kim said in the KCNA statement, Yonhap reported via The Korea Times. She called the US claim "absurd rhetoric and nothing new" and accused the FBI of trying to brand North Korea a "cyber criminal state," Reuters reported.koreatimes.co.kr+1

Pyongyang points the finger back

Kim described the allegation as "a sinister attempt to damage the international image of the DPRK" and said it "confirmed Washington's hostile attitude toward the DPRK once again," AFP reported via Vanguard. She added that Pyongyang has "issues to reconsider in diverse aspects" regarding US hostility. South Korean broadcaster SBS reported that she also hinted the US itself might be behind the theft. She pointed to Washington's past pledges to seize stolen crypto and suggested that whoever ends up with the recovered money would offer a clue to the culprit.vanguardngr.com+1

What the FBI found

Attackers drained Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume, on or about October 29. On Saturday, October 31, the FBI said North Korea was responsible and named a group called TraderTraitor, according to AFP via the Jakarta Globe. The FBI said the hackers had been converting stolen assets into Ethereum ↗ 0.16% and expected them to be laundered further through decentralized finance and instant swap services. It urged private companies to block transactions linked to the hackers' addresses. The FBI has tied the same group to the $1.5 billion theft from Bybit in February 2025, and TraderTraitor is believed to be part of the Lazarus Group.jakartaglobe.id

Blockchain analytics firms, including TRM Labs, had already linked the attack to North Korea, The Block reported. The same report said Binance published its first proof of reserves on Monday, November 2, and said it had used its own funds to replace about 95% of the affected assets.theblock.co

Mixed signals from Washington

The White House has sounded less certain than the FBI. Speaking at his Florida residence after the FBI statement, President Donald Trump said, "I'm not concerned. We're learning about it. We don't know if it's North Korea," AFP reported. No US response to Kim's remarks had been reported as of Monday evening, according to BeInCrypto.beincrypto.com+1