North Korea slams FBI allegations over Binance hack as 'grave' provocation

The FBI said on Saturday that a North Korea-affiliated hacking group called TraderTraitor had been behind the hack.

Biance app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

SEOUL: North Korea on Tuesday (Nov 3) slammed the FBI's allegations that Pyongyang was behind the theft of US$6 billion from cryptocurrency platform Binance, with Kim Jong Un's powerful sister labelling it a "grave political provocation".

Kim Yo Jong, in a statement released on Tuesday by the KCNA state news agency, said the FBI's claim was "absurd rhetoric and nothing new", given prior US allegations that North Korea was behind last year's major hack of Bybit.

"It is a grave political provocation against the DPRK that the US misleads the international public opinion as if all the cyber crimes in different parts of the world are our deeds," Kim said, using the acronym for North Korea's official name.

The FBI said on Saturday that a North Korea-affiliated hacking group called TraderTraitor had been behind the hack.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less TraderTraitor is the same group blamed for a US$1.5 billion theft from the Bybit platform in February last year, which had been the largest crypto theft until the Binance hack.

"This is a sinister attempt to damage the international image of the DPRK and undermine its dignity and national prestige and another grave violation of the sovereignty of the DPRK," Kim said.

"It is the consistent policy stand of the DPRK government to resolutely oppose all sorts of malicious acts in cyberspace," she added.

Binance is the world's largest crypto exchange by daily trading volumes. News of the hacking attack caused the prices of most major cryptocurrencies to fall sharply on Friday.

After the FBI released its statement on Saturday, US President Donald Trump cast doubt on North Korea's involvement in the hack.

"I'm not concerned. We're learning about it. We don't know if it's North Korea," Trump told reporters at his residence in Florida.