Photo: Ron Przysucha / State Department (2018 archive)
North Korea denied involvement in the Binance cryptocurrency theft in a statement reported Tuesday in Korea, or Monday evening in the United States, rejecting the FBI’s earlier attribution of the attack to North Korean hackers.
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, called the U.S. announcement “a trite provocation” and accused Washington of routinely linking Pyongyang to major cybercrime incidents, AP reported.
The statement is a denial from Pyongyang. It does not settle responsibility for the theft or overturn the FBI’s attribution.
FBI named TraderTraitor
Binance said Friday that hackers had stolen more than $6 billion, according to AP’s account. The FBI subsequently attributed the theft to TraderTraitor, a North Korean hacking group it also linked to the $1.5 billion Bybit exchange hack last year.
Kim accused the United States of trying to damage North Korea’s international standing by associating it with cybercrime. She said Pyongyang was monitoring what it viewed as persistent U.S. provocations.
Her statement did not provide an alternative explanation for the Binance theft in the account published by AP.
Seoul calls for international cooperation
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that North Korea’s illicit cyber activities posed a growing threat to the global digital economy. It said Seoul was working closely with Washington and the wider international community to address that threat.
AP cited outside experts who say cryptocurrency theft and other illicit cyber operations have become an important source of foreign currency for North Korea under international sanctions. The report also noted earlier cyberattacks linked to the country, including the 2014 Sony Pictures hack and the 2017 WannaCry malware attack.
The competing statements leave two distinct positions: the FBI has publicly identified North Korean hackers, while Kim Yo Jong has rejected that attribution. The denial alone is not evidence clearing the group named by U.S. investigators.
JBizNews Desk | Seoul
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