Wire reporting: (AP, via ABC News)

SEOUL — Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, on Tuesday rejected a U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation finding that a North Korea-linked group stole more than $6 billion from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, according to a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency^2,3.

The FBI said on Saturday that the theft was carried out by TraderTraitor, a group it has also tied to a $1.5 billion theft from the Bybit exchange in 2025^2,1. Binance has described the incident as the largest cryptocurrency theft on record^3,1.

Kim Yo Jong said the FBI claim was “absurd rhetoric and nothing new,” linking it to earlier U.S. statements about Bybit². She said attributing cybercrime around the world to North Korea was a political provocation and an attempt to damage the country's standing².

She said Pyongyang opposes malicious acts in cyberspace and that the episode confirmed what she called a hostile U.S. attitude, adding that North Korea would watch further U.S. steps^2,1.

The Associated Press, carried by ABC News, reported that South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Monday that illicit North Korean cyber activity is a growing threat and that Seoul is working with the United States and others on the issue¹. Outside researchers and South Korean agencies have for years attributed large virtual-asset thefts to North Korean operators; Pyongyang has typically denied those claims¹.

SCMP reported that President Donald Trump, asked about the case, said investigators were still learning the facts and that it was not established that North Korea was responsible². Trump has said he is open to meeting Kim Jong Un; SCMP said those gestures have not drawn a public reply from Pyongyang². The Japan Times framed Kim Yo Jong's statement as cooling talk of such a meeting³.

What remains unresolved is the technical attribution itself: the FBI's public finding, North Korea's denial, and the president's expressed uncertainty have not been reconciled in on-record statements^1,2.