North Korea launches missiles, denies involvement in $6 billion Binance hack

North Korea launched several short‑range missiles from the Sondok area on its eastern coast into the Sea of Japan on Wednesday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, hours after Pyongyang denied that it was behind the $6 billion theft from cryptocurrency exchange Binance. The missiles were detected in the early morning and tracked as they flew toward the water. No casualties were reported, and the launches came just a day after the North Korean government dismissed a U.S. FBI claim that its hackers stole the record‑breaking crypto haul.

The missile tests are part of a rapid acceleration in Pyongyang’s weapons program this year, analysts say, as the regime seeks leverage in any future talks with the United States. In the past month, North Korea has fired four missile salvos, tested a submarine‑launched ballistic missile, hypersonic weapons, attack drones and new cluster‑warhead munitions. The timing follows a state media report that Kim Jong Un visited a naval shipyard to oversee the construction of a destroyer, underscoring a push to strengthen its navy alongside its missile arsenal.

South Korean officials said they are working with U.S. analysts to examine the launch data. The FBI, meanwhile, attributed the Binance hack to a North Korean group known as TraderTraitor, which previously hit the Bybit exchange for $1.5 billion. Kim Yo Jong, the leader’s sister, called the FBI’s announcement “an extension of Washington’s invariable hostile policy” and ruled out any dialogue until the United States abandons that stance. She said North Korea has no need to sit “face to face” with what she called “unreliable and hostile persons.”

The missile fire and the hack denial raise the risk of further diplomatic friction on the Korean Peninsula. The United States, South Korea and Japan have reiterated calls for complete denuclearisation, while President Donald Trump has signalled a desire to meet Kim Jong Un later this year. Analysts warn that North Korea’s expanding arsenal could be used as bargaining chips in any future negotiations, but the lack of dialogue may also prompt stronger sanctions or defensive measures from its neighbours. The next weeks will likely see heightened military monitoring and diplomatic pressure as both sides test the limits of engagement.