Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, issued the denial in a written statement published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Tuesday.
She described the US allegation as “absurd rhetoric” and a political provocation, accusing Washington of attempting to portray North Korea as responsible for cybercrimes committed around the world.
The denial followed an announcement by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Saturday that North Korean state-backed hackers were responsible for the October 29 attack on Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
The FBI identified the hacking operation as TraderTraitor and urged cryptocurrency companies and other industry operators to block transactions involving digital wallets associated with the group.
According to blockchain intelligence firm TRM, approximately $6.36bn was transferred from Binance wallets across 10 blockchain networks, with most of the transactions completed within about 20 minutes.
Binance Moves to Cover $6.34bn in Stolen Assets
Binance initially said its investigation suggested that an engineer’s laptop might have been compromised, but the exchange subsequently identified additional points of breach.
The company said it had set aside more than $6.34bn in corporate funds to cover the stolen assets and was working with blockchain partners to recover the funds. Approximately $3bn worth of affected assets had also been frozen, according to reports by the Associated Press.
The attack forced Binance to temporarily suspend withdrawals while it investigated the breach. Trading and withdrawal services have since resumed.
The FBI said the stolen assets were being converted mainly into Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, as the hackers sought to move the funds through decentralised finance platforms and instant-swap services to conceal their origins.
Binance said it was cooperating with law enforcement agencies and other industry partners to trace the stolen funds and recover the assets.
The latest allegations add to a series of major cryptocurrency thefts attributed to North Korean-linked hacking groups. In February 2025, the FBI blamed TraderTraitor for stealing approximately $1.5bn from cryptocurrency exchange Bybit. The incident was then considered the largest cryptocurrency heist on record.
