North Korea has dismissed claims linking state-backed hackers to the record-breaking $6.3 billion cyber heist at cryptocurrency exchange Binance, labeling the accusations as “absurd rhetoric” and a complete fabrication.
In a statement issued through the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Pyongyang rejected assertions from the FBI and other U.S. intelligence agencies attributing the massive digital asset breach to its military hacking units.
“The FBI is trying to brand the DPRK as a ‘cybercriminal state,’ claiming that it obtained information that a hacking organization ‘supported’ by the DPRK was involved in the incident,” KCNA quoted Kim Yo Jong, a ruling party official as saying.
Kim is the influential sister of the country’s leader Kim Jong Un. DPRK is a short form for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“But the US assertion is an absurd rhetoric and nothing new,” Kim said.
“It is a grave political provocation against the DPRK that the US misleads the international public opinion as if all the cybercrimes in different parts of the world are our deeds,” she said.
The FBI said at the weekend that North Korea was responsible for the theft of more than $6 billion in virtual assets from the Binance exchange in what could be the largest-ever financial heist.
State media maintained that North Korea routinely opposes all malicious activities in cyberspace and criticized Washington’s attribution as a politically motivated provocation.
Despite the vehement denial, international investigators and major crypto platforms continue to track and freeze wallets associated with the stolen funds, while Binance moves forward with using its own reserves to cover the historic losses.
