North Korea denies Sh774 billion Binance hack claim

North Korea denies Sh774 billion Binance hack claim - Binance said it replaced most of the stolen assets out of its own funds. (Photo: Sk Mijanur Rahaman/imageBROKER/picture alliance via DW)

Kim Yo Jong dismissed FBI claims that North Korean hackers stole more than $6 billion from Binance, as the exchange began reopening withdrawals on more networks.

North Korea has hit back at US accusations that its hackers drained more than $6 billion (Sh774 billion) from cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Kim Yo Jong, sister of leader Kim Jong Un, called the charge "a grave political provocation," according to state media agency KCNA.

Kim described the US claim as "absurd rhetoric and nothing new”.

The accusation came from the FBI, which blamed a state-tied hacking group called TraderTraitor over the weekend.

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This was reportedly the biggest crypto-exchange heist on record, well above the roughly $1.5 billion (Sh195 billion) Bybit raid in 2025, which was also attributed to North Korean hackers.

TRM Labs linked the attack to the same group and said it shifted most of the money out within 20 minutes, German news agency DPA reported.

Kim Yo Jong said Pyongyang now had "issues to reconsider" because of Washington's hostility.

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North Korea has so far stayed silent on Trump's overtures about reviving summit talks.

Analysts in Seoul told Reuters the speed of the denial points to concern that Washington could step up efforts to cut off a funding source widely believed to bankroll arms development.

Separately, Binance announced Monday that withdrawals will restart for additional assets across several blockchains, among them Binance Smart Chain, Ethereum, Solana, XRP and Sui, from 04:00 GMT Tuesday.

Selected tokens on Arbitrum, Optimism, Tron and Base are part of the same rollout. Binance said it replaced most of the stolen assets out of its own funds.