North Korea fired multiple missiles into the Sea of Japan on Wednesday, South Korea’s military reported. The launch followed a denial by Pyongyang hours earlier that it was involved in the theft of more than six billion dollars in crypto assets from the Binance exchange.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said authorities detected the projectiles fired from the Sondok area on the eastern coast. Officials in Seoul and Washington are analysing the flight details.
This is the fourth weapons test conducted by Pyongyang within a month. It follows an FBI statement accusing North Korean hackers of orchestrating the massive heist at Binance.
Binance announced on Friday that hackers stole over six billion dollars in the largest digital currency theft on record. The FBI attributed the cyberattack to a group named TraderTraitor, linked to a past 1.5 billion dollar hack of the Bybit exchange.
Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, rejected the FBI announcement early on Wednesday. She described the claims as a trite provocation and an extension of Washington’s hostile policy.
She dismissed the prospect of future negotiations with the United States under current conditions. "It is our clear stand that we have no need to sit face to face with such unreliable and hostile persons," she stated.
US President Donald Trump stated in August that he intends to meet Kim Jong Un later this year to revive ties from his first term. Trump noted that Pyongyang possesses 57 powerful nuclear weapons and stressed maintaining relations.
Nuclear talks between the two leaders collapsed in 2019 over disagreements regarding the North’s nuclear arsenal. The US, South Korea, and Japan reiterated demands for the complete denuclearisation of the region in October.
Pyongyang has increased its weapons testing throughout the year. Recent demonstrations have featured hypersonic weapons, attack drones, a submarine-launched ballistic missile, and strategic cruise missiles equipped with new cluster warheads.
