OMM Newsroom
North Korea has rejected US accusations that it was responsible for stealing more than $6 billion in digital assets from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, called the allegations “absurd rhetoric” and a political provocation.
According to AnewZ, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said over the weekend that a hacking group called TraderTraitor, linked to the North Korean state, had stolen more than $6 billion in digital assets from Binance. The theft could be the largest cryptocurrency heist on record.
Kim Yo Jong accused Washington of trying to portray North Korea as a state engaged in cybercrime. The North Korean state news agency KCNA quoted her as saying: “The United States misleads international public opinion by presenting all cybercrimes occurring in various parts of the world as if they were our deeds. This is a serious political provocation against the DPRK.”
In a statement released on Tuesday, November 3, Kim described the accusations as another example of the United States’ hostile stance toward Pyongyang.
Cryptocurrency thefts and funding weapons programs
Cybersecurity experts have long accused North Korean hackers of stealing digital assets to help fund the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Pyongyang has consistently denied involvement in such activities.
Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic estimates that cryptocurrency thefts attributed to North Korea reached about $7.6 billion in 2026, exceeding the total recorded in each of the previous years.
Another analytics firm, Chainalysis, estimates that North Korea was linked to 89% of losses from cryptocurrency hacking attacks this year, compared with 15% in 2021. The company said the average reported loss per attack rose from $50.65 million in 2021 to $185.65 million in 2026.
Accusations could affect US-North Korea dialogue
Analysts in Seoul have linked Pyongyang’s unusually swift denial of the accusations to concerns that the United States could impose further restrictions on cryptocurrency operations and money-laundering networks.
Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies, said: “With the current sanctions in place, cryptocurrency theft has become one of the main channels for obtaining funds to sustain the regime and develop weapons.” He said additional US measures targeting cryptocurrency wallets, money-laundering networks and exchanges could cut off an important source of revenue.
According to an estimate by the Bank of Korea, North Korea’s economy was worth about $35.09 billion in 2025. On that basis, the amount allegedly stolen from Binance would be equivalent to about one-sixth of North Korea’s economy.
The dispute comes as North Korea has yet to publicly respond to US President Donald Trump’s proposals to resume diplomatic talks with Kim Jong Un. Kim Yo Jong said Pyongyang would reconsider unspecified matters following what she called Washington’s “very unpleasant hostile conduct.”
Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, said the statement carried a broader diplomatic message. In effect, he said, Pyongyang was signaling that the issue should not be used as leverage if dialogue is to continue.
The FBI identified TraderTraitor as a group linked to the North Korean state and allegedly responsible for the attack on Binance. Law enforcement officials observed that the stolen assets had been converted into the cryptocurrency Ethereum and expected them to be laundered later.
Binance said it had covered most of the assets stolen in the attack using its own funds.
