In brief
North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong accused the United States of continuing a hostile campaign against the DPRK after a Binance cryptocurrency theft allegedly tied to a DPRK‑supported hacking group. She criticized U.S. joint military drills with Japan and South Korea, new sanctions, and the Trafficking in Persons Report, calling them signs of an escalating hostility. Kim urged reflection on U.S. policies across multiple domains, suggesting that ending hostile actions would resolve broader issues.
PYONGYANG—A senior Korean Workers' Party official said that the United States was still sending "hostile signals," urging the DPRK to rethink its stance toward Washington. In a statement delivered by the Korean Central News Agency, party director Kim Yo Jong linked the recent Binance cryptocurrency heist, which involved billions of U.S. dollars, to a hacking group that she claimed was supported by the DPRK.
The official denounced the hack as no accident or isolated private scheme, labeling it an extension of Washington’s persistent hostile policy toward North Korea. She accused the U.S. of trying to achieve political and strategic gains by exploiting the case and warned that the incident would exacerbate political tensions, noting that the situation was "the tip of the iceberg" of Washington’s broader approach toward the DPRK.
Criticism of U.S. Military and Economic Actions
Kim also slammed Washington for staging joint military exercises with Japan and the Republic of Korea under a variety of missions. She described the U.S. cooperation with those countries and its multi‑faced sanctions regime as new "records of anti‑DPRK hostility" in the realms of denuclearization, human rights, cyber, and military affairs. The official cited the United Nations text “Trafficking in Persons Report” as another example of U.S. oppression.
"We do not regard the Binance hacking incident as any accidental and sudden case or isolated private scheme, but as an extension of Washington's invariable hostile policy toward the DPRK," Kim said, according to KCNA.
In her remarks, Kim urged the DPRK to take reflective counter‑action and stated that "the U.S. abandonment of its hostile policy toward the DPRK is a major premise and key to solving all problems." She further indicated that with each new record of U.S. hostility, DPRK would respond in kind, setting its own counter‑measures.
Kim warned that the U.S. was building a new set of hostile policies that could reshape geopolitical dynamics in the region. She called for vigilance and the strengthening of North Korean cyber, military, and diplomatic capabilities to level the field.
Kyung Hyang, a senior observer for the Korean Central News Agency, noted that the party’s response follows a pattern of framing U.S. actions as aggression to rally domestic support. The statement was delivered amid a global push to scrutinize state‑backed cyber operations and the safety of digital assets.
While the U.S. has not yet issued a direct comment on the DPRK’s latest accusations, the comments come at a time when Washington’s sanctions and human‑rights reports remain a focal point of diplomatic tension. Analysts suggest that North Korea is deliberately escalating rhetoric to justify defensive postures and further its propaganda objectives.
North Korean officials emphasize that continued U.S. hostility will necessitate stronger counter‑measures in cyberspace and in military readiness. The DPRK’s latest statement summarises the state’s stance: a call for broader reflection, a pledge to sustain defense, and a threat of increased counter‑action if U.S. policies remain unchanged.
