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North Korea on Tuesday denied its involvement in the recent cryptocurrency heist at Binance, dismissing as "a trite provocation" a US announcement that North Korean hackers were behind the incident. Binance, the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, said Friday that hackers stole more than USD 6 billion in what appears to be the largest cryptocurrency heist on record. The FBI later said the theft was orchestrated by North Korean hackers, attributing the attack to a hacking group known as TraderTraitor, which was also behind a USD 1.5 billion hack of the Bybit exchange last year. On Tuesday, Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, called the FBI announcement "a trite provocation" and "an absurd rhetoric." "This is not the first time that the US has attempted to spread misunderstanding of the DPRK in the international community, blindly linking the DPRK with the cyber crime' incidents whenever they occur on an international scale," she said in a ...
The theft of billions of dollars from Binance within a matter of minutes, the biggest crypto heist in history, was orchestrated by North Korean hackers, the FBI has said. The bureau said in a statement on Saturday that this week's attack was tied to "malicious cyber activity" by an entity known as TraderTraitor, the same actors behind a USD 1.5 billion Bybit hack last year. The FBI asked crypto exchanges, blockchain analytics companies and others to block transactions linked to various addresses to make sure the money is not laundered to cover up its origins. It also said its probe found that TraderTraitor was converting stolen assets primarily into a cryptocurrency called ethereum. The FBI expects that TraderTraitor will now attempt to convert the assets using DeFi and "instant swap services." On Thursday, USD 6.3 billion in bitcoin and other digital currency was stolen from Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, in what several crypto experts said bore the hallmarks of a .
North Korea launched a barrage of ballistic missiles toward the sea Thursday, South Korea's military said, days after the North threatened to resume front-line propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts and deploy new weapons along the rivals' tense border. The launches also followed leader Kim Jong Un's surprise weekend visit to China, the North's main ally and economic pipeline, to push for greater cooperation. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected about 10 short-range ballistic missiles fired from the North's eastern costal town of Wonsan. It said South Korea's military bolstered its surveillance posture and was closely exchanging information about the launches with the US and Japan. Animosity between the Koreas have deepened after last month's land mine blasts that injured three South Korean soldiers. Seoul accused North Korea of planting mines south of the military demarcation line that caused the Sept 21 blasts, but Pyongyang has denied responsibility for the explosions
North Korea said Saturday it had successfully tested a new torpedo system that uses artificial intelligence for target detection and guidance. The Korean Central News Agency said the weapon tested Thursday was a "super-speed, precisely guided" torpedo system named Zam-2.0. It didn't explain what was meant by artificial intelligence. The report added that test verified the weapon's propulsion systems, which were developed through more than 180 tests over the past five years. South Korea's military, which often accuses the North of exaggerating its military technologies, did not immediately comment on KCNA's report. North Korea has been ramping up weapons demonstrations in recent weeks, including conducting its first underwater-launched missile tests in nearly three years, as leader Kim Jong Un shifts his focus to naval capabilities after years of ballistic missile development. Experts say the missile tests, carried out Wednesday, likely involved a yet-to-be-deployed submarine that .
North Korea on Monday fired multiple ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters, South Korea's military said, adding to a recent streak of weapons demonstrations that has heightened tensions during a prolonged freeze in diplomacy. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired from an area around the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, where the country has used its airport as a major launch site in recent years. The joint chiefs did not immediately specify how many missiles they detected or how far they flew. Japan's Defense Ministry said it detected at least two missiles and assessed that the weapons landed in waters outside the country's exclusive economic zone. The launch came days after South Korea on Friday flight-tested its first domestically developed hypersonic weapon, designed to fly at least five times the speed of sound and evade missile defense systems, which President Lee Jae Myung described as an important step in strengthening the South's ...
North Korea said Tuesday its latest missile tests involved a new weapons system of "great significance," with photos indicating it launched a missile previously described as hypersonic. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the weapon's development would strengthen the country's war readiness and give its enemies an "incurable headache," the North's official Korean Central News Agency said. He did not describe what the weapon was. Kim observed Sunday's tests with his teenage daughter, widely seen as a potential successor. South Korea's military detected North Korea firing two short-range missiles three hours apart from the eastern coastal Wonsan area Sunday. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles flew about 450 and 600 kilometers (280 miles and 370 miles) toward the sea, while Japan's military said they landed in waters outside the country's exclusive economic zone. The launches extended a recent run in military displays, including live-fire exercises and the ...
North Korea launched a suspected ballistic missile toward the sea on Thursday, Japan said, a day after North Korea shrugged off a US decision to scale back military drills with South Korea in an apparent bid to resume diplomacy. The Japanese prime minister's office said it detected the suspected launch but gave no further details. South Korean media, citing the military, reported that North Korea fired an unidentified projectile off the North's east coast. On Wednesday, the South Korean and US militaries said they were scaling back their 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises. US President Donald Trump earlier ordered the Pentagon to "substantially reduce" the exercises, just before they began Monday. Trump cited what he said was a good relationship with Kim and South Korea's refusal to support him over the war in Iran. Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, dismissed Trump's overture later Wednesday. She said it was not even worthy of comment. "The
North Korea on Friday threatened to exercise its right to self-defence in a statement that slammed the upcoming US-South Korean military drills as a war rehearsal that would be more provocative than last year. The US and South Korean militaries are to start their annual large-scale drills Monday and have described the scope of this year's training as similar to past years. The allies have said the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises are meant to strengthen their readiness against North Korean threats and reiterated that they are defensive in nature. The North Korean warning signals the country could conduct more weapons tests in coming days after its neighbors detected two ballistic missile launches off North Korea's east coast in the past week. North Korea hasn't commented on the launches, but outside experts assess they were likely meant to protest the US-South Korean drills or upgrade weapons systems. In a statement carried by state media Friday, North Korea's Foreign Ministry calle
South Korea's ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol and his former defense minister were sentenced to 30 years in prison Friday in a case alleging Yoon ordered drone flights over Pyongyang in 2024 to heighten tensions with North Korea and justify declaring martial law at home. The full version of the Seoul Central District Court's ruling was not immediately available. The same court earlier sentenced Yoon to life in prison for a rebellion conviction over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024. North Korea accused Seoul of flying drones over Pyongyang to drop propaganda leaflets three times in October 2024. South Korea's defense minister at the time, Kim Yong Hyun, issued a vague denial before the Defense Ministry said it could neither confirm nor deny the allegations. Tensions rose sharply but did not lead to any military clashes. Yoon's lawyers criticised the latest ruling, saying the drone flights were a response to North Korea flying thousands of trash-carrying ...
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed sea trials of a new warship repaired after a failed launch last year and vowed to accelerate efforts to build a nuclear-armed navy, state media said on Saturday, showcasing his expanding military capabilities ahead of a visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said Kim visited the 5,000-ton destroyer Kang Kon on Thursday as it underwent capability tests. Photos released by the agency showed him accompanied by his increasingly prominent teenage daughter, believed to be named Kim Ju Ae, whom South Korean officials say may be being groomed as his successor. Kim Jong Un called for "rapidly developing" naval forces capable of playing a larger role in the country's nuclear deterrent and dealing a "deadly blow at the enemy any moment under the water or on the water," KCNA said. He said the navy was a key focus of a new five-year defense plan approved at a ruling party congress earlier this year, which he
Chinese leader Xi Jinping will travel to North Korea next week, both countries announced Friday, in what will be his first visit in nearly seven years. His trip will the latest in a series of steps by China to reinforce its close ties with its nuclear-armed neighbour, whose leader Kim Jong Un has reached out to Russia in recent years, notably by sending troops and conventional weapons to support its war against Ukraine. Kim has likewise been cozying up again to China, the North's biggest trade partner and aid provider, in the past year. "As North Korea builds closer ties with Russia, China seeks to use Xi's trip to reassert its influence over Pyongyang and safeguard its strategic interests in northeast Asia," said William Yang, an analyst for the International Crisis Group. Xi will make a state visit from Monday to Tuesday, state media from both nations said in brief dispatches. His last visit was in June 2019. The trip will come just weeks after Xi hosted US President Donald Trum