North Korea denies Binance hack claim, tests missiles

North Korea rejected an FBI allegation that it was behind a $6 billion theft from cryptocurrency platform Binance and reported a new strategic cruise missile test.

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, called the FBI allegation a “grave political provocation” and “absurd rhetoric”. The FBI said Saturday that a North Korea-affiliated hacking group called TraderTraitor was behind the Binance hack.

Michael Bosack, founding director of the Parley Policy Institute and a former UN Command official, told AFP the theft could be the largest cryptocurrency theft in history. He said the amount was equal to nearly a quarter of North Korea's estimated annual GDP.

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said Tuesday that Monday's launch involved strategic cruise missiles fitted with a new cluster-munition warhead. KCNA said the test improved the missiles' terminal manoeuvrability and their ability to deliver a vertical strike.

KCNA quoted a North Korean official as saying the test was conducted because the country's armed forces needed to defend national security and deter threats.

Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies, told AFP the missiles could be intended to threaten South Korean and US military infrastructure. South Korea's military did not announce the launch and said it does not announce every projectile fired by North Korea.