Pyongyang rejects FBI Binance hack claims and test-fires cruise missiles
North Korea has denied the US Federal Bureau of Investigation's claims that it stole $6 billion from the crypto platform Binance, and has tested new cruise missiles. South Korea has called for stronger protection of its digital infrastructure after the incident.
North Korea has sharply rejected accusations by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that it was behind the theft of $6 billion (€5.3 billion) from the cryptocurrency platform Binance. On Monday it also test-fired strategic cruise missiles that, according to state media, carry a new cluster-munition warhead. The events put both cybercrime and security on the Korean Peninsula in focus.
The denial and the FBI's claims
On Saturday the FBI said a North Korea-affiliated hacking group called TraderTraitor carried out the attack. Experts see it as potentially the largest cryptocurrency theft in history. Michael Bosack, founding director of the Parley Policy Institute and a former UN Command official, told AFP the haul equals nearly a quarter of North Korea's estimated annual GDP.
Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, called the allegations a "grave political provocation" and "absurd rhetoric and nothing new", pointing to earlier US claims that Pyongyang was behind last year's major hack of Bybit. Bosack said North Korea probably felt compelled to respond because of the international attention, and wants to keep open the channels through which it can launder and use the cryptocurrency.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung called for a comprehensive prevention system, saying existing security systems built around inspections and responses after incidents have shown clear limitations. A 2024 UN report said proceeds from North Korean cyberattacks had reportedly helped fund the country's development of weapons of mass destruction.
The missile test
The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the missiles carried a middle-sized dispersal warhead able to turn a target area of 5 to 6 hectares to ashes. The test, it said, perfected the ability to deliver a vertical strike. Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies, told AFP it shows a single missile could disable key South Korean and US military infrastructure, and acts as a "double deterrence" before nuclear weapons would be used.
South Korea's military did not announce the launch, just as it did not announce Sunday's test. Unlike ballistic missile launches, cruise missile tests are not prohibited by UN Security Council sanctions. Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Jang Do-young said the military does not announce all projectiles North Korea launches, citing operational security and the protection of intelligence assets.
