North Korea has denied allegations that it was behind the theft of about $6.3bn from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, describing the United States’ accusation as a political provocation, BBC reports on Tuesday.
Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said the allegation was an attempt by Washington to portray her country as responsible for cybercrimes around the world.
Kim made the remarks in a written statement carried by North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
The denial followed an announcement by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation on Saturday that North Korea was responsible for stealing more than $6bn in virtual assets from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
The FBI attributed the October 29 attack to a North Korean state-backed hacking operation it calls TraderTraitor and urged cryptocurrency businesses and other industry operators to block transactions involving wallets linked to the group.
“The US assertion is absurd rhetoric and nothing new,” Kim said, according to KCNA.
She described the allegation as “a grave political provocation” against North Korea, formally known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and accused the US of misleading international public opinion by suggesting that cybercrimes committed in different parts of the world were the work of Pyongyang.
