North Korea rejects U.S. accusation it stole more than $6 billion from Binance, calling the claim a “grave political provocation”

North Korea has rejected U.S. allegations that it was behind the theft of more than $6 billion in cryptocurrency from Binance, calling the accusation “absurd rhetoric” and evidence that Washington remains hostile toward Pyongyang.

The denial came from Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in a statement carried Tuesday by state news agency KCNA.

“The U.S. assertion is absurd rhetoric and nothing new,” Kim said, accusing Washington of trying to portray North Korea as responsible for cybercrime around the world.

She described the FBI allegation as a “grave political provocation” and said Pyongyang had “issues to reconsider” because of what she called the United States’ “very unpleasant hostile attitude,” without specifying what those issues were.

The FBI said over the weekend that a North Korean state-sponsored hacking unit known as TraderTraitor was responsible for stealing more than $6 billion in virtual assets from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

U.S. investigators said the stolen assets were being converted into ethereum and warned that further laundering was expected.

Blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs separately attributed the October attack, valued at about $6.3 billion, to North Korean hackers. Binance has said it replaced most of the stolen assets using company funds.

North Korea has repeatedly denied involvement in cryptocurrency thefts and other cybercrime. Cybersecurity firms, however, have for years linked North Korean hacking groups to large-scale crypto thefts that analysts say help fund the country’s weapons programs.