North Korea responded with unusual speed after being accused of being behind the Binance hacking incident.
It issued a statement just two days after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) pointed the finger at North Korea, drawing particular attention as Kim Yo-jong, director of the General Affairs Department of the Workers' Party of Korea, directly responded in her own name.
In the past, when hacking allegations surfaced, North Korea typically rebutted them through a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Earlier, President Trump stated that while he did not know whether North Korea was behind the hack, if true, he would discuss the issue with North Korea.
Kim Yo-jong's release of a direct statement just two days after his remarks is being interpreted as a message directed toward the United States.
In a statement issued yesterday (November 2), Kim criticized the United States for misleading international public opinion into believing that whenever cyber fraud occurs, it is all North Korea's doing.
She also dismissed the FBI's identification of a North Korean hacking group as being behind the Binance hack as "absurd nonsense."
She further claimed that attempts to brand North Korea as a "cybercrime state" constitute an infringement on sovereignty that damages the country's dignity and national prestige.
She stated that this has reaffirmed Washington's hostile stance toward North Korea, adding that they are closely monitoring the United States' provocations.
She also warned that there may be issues to reconsider from various angles regarding the United States' hostile attitude.
However, some analysts note that while criticizing the United States, she refrained from using hard-line terms such as "retaliation" or "counteraction," thereby leaving room for dialogue.
Reported by Choi Jae-yeong | Video by Lee Eui-seon | Graphics by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News
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