Kim Yo Jong Pushes Back at U.S. Claim North Korea Was "Behind the Hack"... "Left Room for U.S.-North Korea Talks"

Kim: "Absurd and groundless rumors"
Immediate response prompts varied interpretations
"Signals dissatisfaction with ties and possible response"

Kim Yo Jong, head of the General Affairs Department of North Korea's Workers' Party of Korea, pushed back against the United States for identifying North Korea as being behind the Binance hack, warning that "there may be issues that need to be reconsidered from several angles." Experts said the statement appeared to express dissatisfaction with the United States, while also leaving room for talks between Washington and Pyongyang.

According to the Korean Central News Agency on November 3, Kim called the U.S. allegations "absurd and groundless rumors" in a statement on November 2. She claimed that "the United States is clearly committing a grave political provocation against us by misleading international public opinion into believing that all cyber fraud around the world is our doing."

On October 31, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified the North Korean hacking group TraderTraitor as being behind the theft of more than $6 billion in crypto assets from Binance. U.S. President Donald Trump said the same day, "I don't know if it's North Korea," but added, "But if it is North Korea, we'll talk with North Korea about it."

An official from South Korea's Ministry of Unification said on November 3 that this was the first time Kim Yo Jong had directly responded to U.S. and international concerns about North Korea's cyber activities. "As the fallout from the Binance incident widened, we believe she regarded the matter as serious and raised the level of her response to state her position," the official said. The official added, "North Korea has recently been presenting itself as a normal state and broadening its diplomatic reach, and it appears to be mindful of its international standing in this context."

North Korea has denied allegations of being behind hacking operations in the past, but it is unusual for a statement to be issued under Kim's name. Some interpret it as signaling not only a rebuttal of the hacking allegations, but also dissatisfaction with U.S.-North Korea relations overall and the possibility of a response. However, the statement did not specify any concrete measures or directly mention talks between Washington and Pyongyang.

Park Yong-han, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, said, "There are various channels, but the fact that they chose to speak through Kim Yo Jong means the message is aimed at Trump." He added that it was "an expression of dissatisfaction with the issue being brought to the forefront."

Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University, said, "By North Korean standards, the language and position are very conciliatory, restrained and limited." He said the immediate response was "an effort by North Korea to keep the door open to talks in its relations with the United States." He added, "By saying that it was not their doing, North Korea can be seen as giving Trump at least a minimal opening for dialogue."

Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said the statement was intended "to preemptively prevent cyber theft from becoming an agenda item serving as a precondition or pressure tactic in U.S.-North Korea contacts." He added that North Korea had "secured in advance grounds to hold the United States responsible if contacts between the two sides fail to materialize."

There are also concerns that efforts to counter North Korean hacking are closely connected to efforts to curb the country's nuclear and missile development by cutting off its funding. Park Yong-han said, "The funds are used to keep the regime in power and to develop nuclear weapons and missiles," stressing that "the nuclear and cyber domains are not separate at all."

Meanwhile, the Korean Central News Agency reported on November 3 that North Korea's Missile Administration had conducted a power assessment test of cluster warheads for strategic cruise missiles and a test of their vertical-strike flight characteristics on November 2. After showcasing a cluster-warhead test for a tactical ballistic missile on October 31, North Korea has now also disclosed a test of cluster warheads for cruise missiles.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.