(ATTN: RECASTS lead; UPDATES with more details throughout)
SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Tuesday flatly dismissed the outcome of a U.S. investigation that blamed Pyongyang for a massive cryptocurrency theft from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, calling it a "grave political provocation" against the North.
Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, made the remarks, referring to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) announcement Saturday that the regime is responsible for the theft of more than US$6 billion in cryptocurrency from Binance.
The FBI linked the theft to a North Korean hacking group it calls TraderTraitor, a name previously tied to other cryptocurrency heists.
"The FBI is trying to brand the DPRK as a 'cyber criminal state', claiming that it obtained information that a hacking organization 'supported' by the DPRK was involved in the incident," Kim said in a statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
DPRK is short for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
"It is a grave political provocation against the DPRK that the U.S. misleads the international public opinion as if all the cyber crimes in different parts of the world are our deeds."
North Korea has been blamed for cyber thefts before and has denied any involvement. It is rare for Kim to issue a statement on a hacking incident.
Kim called Washington's accusation a "sinister" attempt to damage the international image of North Korea and undermine its dignity and national prestige, as well as another grave violation of the sovereignty of the North in cyberspace.
Turning the blame back on Washington, she said, "As soon as the present U.S. administration took office last year, it announced that it would confiscate illegally stolen cryptocurrency assets and use them as a state's strategic reserve."
Anyone who looks at who will end up with "the so-called stolen cryptocurrency" once it is retrieved, she said, "may get a clue about who is behind the hacking incident."
She said North Korea is "closely monitoring" a variety of what she called Washington's persistent provocations against it.
"We have issues to reconsider in diverse aspects as regards the very unpleasant U.S. hostile attitude," Kim warned.
(END)
[Copyright ⓒ K-VIBE. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution are prohibited.]
