Kim Yo-jong denied that North Korea was involved in the cyberattack against the cryptocurrency platform Binance, in which digital assets worth around $6.3 billion were stolen on October 29. She described the US claims as a political provocation and said that Washington was trying to portray Pyongyang as a “cybercriminal state.”
“The FBI is trying to portray us as a “cybercriminal state,” claiming that it has received information about a hacking organization supported by the DPRK,” Kim Yo-jong said, as quoted by the Korean Central News Agency. According to her, the American claims are baseless and are part of a repeated US approach.
FBI Identified the TraderTraitor Group
On October 31, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said that North Korea was behind the theft from Binance. In its warning, the US agency identified the TraderTraitor group, which it said was linked to state-sponsored North Korean hackers.
The FBI reported that virtual assets worth more than $6 billion had been stolen from the platform. According to the US agency, the perpetrators had begun converting the stolen funds primarily into Ethereum and transferring them through decentralized finance services and instant-exchange platforms.
The attack became the largest known cryptocurrency theft by value. Binance reported that around $3 billion had been frozen on-chain with the help of partners from the cryptocurrency industry. The company also said it would cover the losses with its own funds and reserves, without the financial burden being passed on to customers.
Parallel with the Attack on Bybit
In her statement, Kim Yo-jong also referred to the attack on the Bybit cryptocurrency exchange in February 2025. At the time, cryptocurrency assets worth around $1.5 billion were stolen, and Washington also linked the attack to North Korean hackers.
According to Kim Yo-jong, the US uses such cases to attribute international cybercrimes to North Korea. She said that the government in Pyongyang opposes “malicious actions in cyberspace” and rejects attempts to politicize cybersecurity or use it as a pretext for interfering in the internal affairs of other countries.
Meanwhile, Binance reported that by November 2 it had recovered around 95% of the affected assets, with the platform committing to cover the remaining portion as well.
Sources: apnews.com, channelnewsasia.com, investing.com