Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, issued another statement on Nov. 4, saying the alleged "North Korean cryptocurrency hacking case" is only the "tip of the iceberg" of what she called the true nature of U.S. hostility toward North Korea.
Yonhap News, citing North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, said it was her second public statement on the issue in a single day.
Second response in a day to the FBI’s Binance hack claim
A day earlier, Kim denied that North Korea was connected to the Binance hack and described the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation’s conclusion as a "serious political provocation." The FBI said on Nov. 1, Taipei time, that more than $6 billion in virtual assets stolen from Binance had been taken by North Korea.
In her latest remarks, as relayed by Yonhap, Kim said the so-called "North Korean cryptocurrency hacking case" merely exposed one part of Washington’s hostile policy toward Pyongyang. The statement did not directly mention Binance, but Yonhap said it referred to the FBI’s determination that North Korea stole more than $6 billion in cryptocurrency from the exchange.
Links the accusation to other U.S., South Korean and Japanese actions
Kim placed the hacking accusation alongside other events that she said showed U.S. hostility, including a recent meeting of the foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States and Japan, where they reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea, as well as various joint military exercises.
She said those "hostile signals" from the United States had led North Korea to reconsider Washington’s "true face."
Says dialogue with Washington does not necessarily serve national interests
On possible talks with the United States, Kim said: "The choice of peace naturally includes dialogue, but for us that does not necessarily equal national interest."
She said the United States abandoning its hostile policy toward North Korea is the "major premise and key" to resolving all issues, adding that "we have no need to sit face to face with such untrustworthy and hostile people."
Kim also warned: "Under the reality in which the U.S. hostile policy toward North Korea is constantly setting new records, our countermeasures should also set new records." She did not say what action North Korea might take.
Yonhap says Pyongyang’s stance has hardened
Yonhap said North Korea’s position has become more hardline, with Pyongyang treating a U.S. abandonment of hostile policy as a precondition for any dialogue.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Oct. 31, when asked by reporters about the Binance hack, that if it were confirmed to be North Korea’s doing, Washington would talk to Pyongyang about the matter.
