Kim Yo-jong on Binance Incident: "Absurd Rumor... There Are Issues to Reconsider"

Kim Yo-jong, director of the General Affairs Department of North Korea's Workers' Party, dismissed the FBI's accusation naming North Korea as the mastermind behind the hacking of U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Binance as an "absurd rumor," stating that "there are issues to reconsider from various aspects regarding the hostile attitude of the United States."

In a statement on Tuesday, Director Kim referred to the Binance incident as an 'extra-large-scale incident' and claimed that "the United States has once again engaged in a habitual provocation by linking it to us."

Regarding the FBI's statement that it had obtained intelligence that a North Korea-backed hacking group was involved behind the incident, she said, "The U.S. claim is an absurd rumor and nothing new."

This is the first time North Korea has issued a statement regarding the Binance incident, flatly denying the U.S. announcement.

Kim claimed that whenever a cybercrime incident occurs, the United States attempts to link it to them and spread false perceptions about North Korea, while also citing last year's Bybit hacking incident.

Kim went so far as to put forward claims hinting that the United States itself might be behind the theft.

She insisted that considering who would fully receive the recovered funds if large sums are retrieved could provide clues about who is behind the theft, pointing out that the U.S. administration announced last year that it would seize illegally stolen cryptocurrency.

Kim stated, "On this occasion, we have once again confirmed Washington's hostile posture, and we are closely watching as the United States continuously launches various provocations against us."

She also stated, "There will be issues to reconsider from various aspects regarding the extremely unpleasant hostile attitude of the United States toward North Korea."

It is somewhat unusual for Kim, who oversees foreign policy, to step forward in response to a hacking incident rather than the Foreign Ministry.

Kim did not specifically mention what the issues to reconsider were.

However, considering Kim's role in dealing with affairs related to the United States and South Korea, her remarks are also interpreted as hinting that this incident could negatively affect North Korea-U.S. dialogue.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.