North Korea denies Binance hack blame
Kim Yo-jong calls US accusations absurd as the exchange covers 95% of the $6.3bn loss.
By Austin Reed ·
The $6.3 billion theft from Binance is the largest cryptocurrency heist in recorded history. North Korea has formally rejected claims that it orchestrated the attack.
Kim Yo-jong, sister of leader Kim Jong Un and director of the General Affairs Department, issued the denial on Tuesday. She labeled the allegations as absurd rhetoric. Kim accused the United States of attempting to damage Pyongyang's reputation and misleading global opinion by pinning worldwide cyber crimes on her country.
US authorities and independent cyber analysts have maintained that the breach was a state-sponsored operation. The FBI, the US Secret Service, and blockchain analysts identified the group TraderTraitor, also known as the Lazarus Group, as the culprit. The FBI has requested that industry partners assist in preventing transactions involving accounts linked to this group.
This incident follows a pattern of major cyber attacks attributed to Pyongyang, all of which the North Korean government has denied. Analysts suggest these operations help support the North Korean economy under sanctions. TraderTraitor was previously linked to the $1.5 billion theft from Bybit in 2025, which held the previous record for the largest single hack.
Research organizations, including the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, describe a systematic recruitment program in North Korea. They report that promising university students are selected and placed in hacking units supervised by the intelligence agency. Kim stated that the government opposes malicious activity in cyberspace, rejecting those accounts of its domestic cyber infrastructure.
Binance stated that preliminary checks found an engineer's laptop was compromised, allowing unauthorized withdrawals. The exchange halted all transactions immediately after the attack. It then worked with asset issuers to freeze affected funds. Trading in major cryptocurrencies has since resumed.
Binance said customers withdrew more than $3.6 billion in assets as the platform reopened. The company has promised to cover the full financial impact of the breach. It reported that it has already covered approximately 95% of the stolen assets.
