North Korea has completely denied allegations that it is behind recent international cryptocurrency hacking incidents. A spokesperson for North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in response to a question from a KCNA reporter on the 3rd, "The claims are false information and absurd slanders for political purposes. Recently, the U.S. has been attempting to spread a distorted perception of North Korea to the international community by using government agencies, subservient media organizations, and conspiracy groups to talk about our 'cyber threat' that does not even exist. It is utterly inappropriate for the U.S., which actually controls the global information technology infrastructure and carries out indiscriminate cyberattacks against other countries, to portray itself as a 'victim'." The international community and U.S. intelligence agencies have pointed to North Korean-linked hacking organizations, such as the Lazarus Group, as the main culprits. In fact, North Korean hackers are estimated to have stolen over $6 billion in cryptocurrency since 2017, and in 2025, they accounted for 64% of all hacking damages.
