The FBI said on Saturday that a North Korea-linked hacking group, known as TraderTraitor, was responsible for the theft.
North Korea on Tuesday rejected allegations by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that it was behind a major theft from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, with Kim Jong Un’s sister Kim Yo Jong calling the claims a “grave political provocation”.
In a statement carried by North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency, Kim dismissed the FBI’s allegations as “absurd rhetoric and nothing new”. She accused Washington of trying to link Pyongyang to cybercrime incidents around the world.
“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,” she said, referring to North Korea by its official name.
FBI Accuses North Korea-Linked Group
The FBI said on Saturday that a North Korea-linked hacking group, known as TraderTraitor, was responsible for the theft. The group has also been blamed for the $1.5 billion hack of cryptocurrency platform Bybit in February last year, which was then the largest cryptocurrency theft on record.
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume, has seen the reported attack add to concerns over security in the digital asset sector.
Kim called the US allegations as an attempt to damage North Korea’s international image and undermine its national reputation.
Pyongyang Accuses Washington Of Hostility
Kim also said North Korea opposed all forms of malicious activity in cyberspace, adding that the latest allegations showed Washington’s continued hostile attitude towards Pyongyang.
“We have issues to reconsider in diverse aspects as regards the very unpleasant US hostile attitude,” she said.