PyongyangKim Yo-jong denies North Korea stole $6.3bn from Binance.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation blames Pyongyang’s TraderTraitor group for the record crypto theft.
TraderTraitor, also called Lazarus, stole $1.5bn from Bybit in 2025, and US investigators asked exchanges to block flagged wallets.
“We don’t know if it’s North Korea,” US President Donald Trump told reporters in Florida.
Kim said Pyongyang has issues to reconsider about Washington, while US investigators have yet to publish their forensics.
How each outlet framed it
drawn from 250+ reports worldwide
- BBC
- frames the denial as image politics, quoting Kim Yo-jong's claim the US seeks to damage the DPRK's 'public image'
- News18
- ties the denial to the $1.5bn Bybit hack attributed to the same TraderTraitor group, and to Binance's sector security concerns
- CoinDesk
- reports Elliptic found automated laundering across thousands of wallets but no proof AI agents directed the transactions