North Korea has rejected allegations by the United States that it was responsible for the theft of about $6.3bn in cryptocurrency from Binance, describing the accusation as a political provocation.

Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, dismissed the allegation in a statement carried by the country’s state-run Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday, accusing Washington of attempting to portray Pyongyang as a global cybercrime state.

Kim described the United States’ assertion as “absurd rhetoric and nothing new”, saying Washington was misleading international public opinion by attributing cybercrimes around the world to North Korea.

Her comments followed an announcement by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation that a North Korean state-backed hacking group known as TraderTraitor was responsible for the 29 October attack on Binance.

The FBI said it had observed the stolen assets being converted into Ethereum and expected the funds to be moved through decentralised finance platforms and instant-swap services to conceal their origin.

The agency has also urged cryptocurrency businesses and other industry players to block transactions involving wallets linked to the hacking group.

One of largest crypto thefts

The Binance attack is believed to be the largest cryptocurrency theft on record.

Blockchain intelligence firm TRM estimated that about $6.36bn was transferred from Binance wallets across 10 blockchains, with most of the transactions reportedly completed within about 20 minutes.

Binance initially said an engineer’s laptop may have been compromised but later identified additional points of breach.

The cryptocurrency exchange said it had set aside more than $6.34bn in company funds to cover the stolen assets and was working with blockchain partners to recover the funds. About $3bn worth of affected assets had reportedly been frozen.

The hack also prompted Binance to temporarily suspend withdrawals while it investigated the incident, although trading and withdrawals later resumed.

North Korea maintains denial

North Korea has repeatedly denied allegations linking it to major cyberattacks and cryptocurrency thefts.

However, cybersecurity experts and international investigators have long accused North Korean-linked hacking groups of using cryptocurrency theft as a source of foreign currency amid extensive international sanctions.

The latest dispute comes as Washington and Pyongyang face uncertainty over the possibility of renewed diplomatic engagement.

Kim Yo Jong said North Korea would reconsider unspecified issues in light of what she described as the United States’ “very unpleasant” hostile attitude.

The FBI’s attribution has also been complicated by comments from US President Donald Trump, who said investigators had not established that North Korea was responsible for the hack.