North Korea fired several missiles into the Sea of Japan on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, its fourth such weapons launch in a month and a day after Pyongyang denied FBI allegations that it was behind the theft of more than $6bn in crypto assets from Binance.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it had detected the launch of several missiles from the Sondok area on North Korea's eastern coast towards the Sea of Japan, and that authorities in South Korea and the United States were analysing the details of the launches.
The launches followed Pyongyang's rejection of the FBI's finding on the Binance theft. Binance, the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, said on Friday that hackers stole more than $6bn in what appears to be the largest cryptocurrency heist on record. The FBI later said North Korean hackers had orchestrated the theft, attributing it to a hacking group known as TraderTraitor, which it said was also behind a $1.5bn hack of the Bybit exchange last year.
Early on Wednesday, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said Pyongyang viewed the FBI announcement as "an extension of Washington's invariable hostile policy toward" North Korea, and ruled out dialogue with Washington until the US abandoned that policy. "It is our clear stand that we have no need to sit face to face with such unreliable and hostile persons," she said, adding: "The choice for peace includes dialogue, of course, but this is not surely equated with national interests for us."
North Korea has accelerated its weapons testing this year, in what analysts say is likely a bid to increase its leverage in any future diplomacy with the US. Recent tests have included a submarine-launched ballistic missile, hypersonic missiles, attack drones, and cluster bombs designed to be carried by ballistic missiles. On Tuesday, Pyongyang said it had tested a new cluster warhead for strategic cruise missiles the previous day, claiming it could destroy an area of 5 to 6 hectares (12 to 15 acres) with "high-density power". The latest launches followed a North Korean state media report that Kim had visited a naval shipyard building a destroyer and stressed the importance of a powerful navy.
US President Donald Trump said in August that he plans to meet Kim Jong Un later this year, seeking to revive the bond he claims to have forged with the North Korean leader during his first term. Trump said it was important to “get along” with Kim, adding that Pyongyang had 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons. Previous rounds of talks between Kim and Trump in 2019 abruptly ended amid disagreements over Pyongyang's nuclear programme. In October, the US, South Korea and Japan again reiterated their call for the “complete denuclearisation” of the Korean Peninsula.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- A fourth missile launch in a month, days after Pyongyang publicly shut the door on dialogue, signals that diplomatic re-engagement between Washington and Pyongyang remains distant despite Trump's stated plans to meet Kim Jong Un.
- The dispute over the Binance theft ties North Korea's weapons programme to crypto crime in the open, with the FBI naming a hacking group it links to both the Binance and Bybit heists.
- Northeast Asian security is affected directly: South Korea and the US are still analysing the launches, and Japan has joined Washington and Seoul in calling for denuclearisation.
Background
North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear programmes have been the central fault line in its relations with the United States, South Korea and Japan for decades. Diplomacy has alternated with confrontation: leader-level summits have been followed by stalemate and renewed testing, and UN sanctions have remained in place throughout.
Parallel to its missile work, North Korea has been repeatedly accused by Western governments of using state-linked hacking groups to raise hard currency, including from cryptocurrency exchanges. Pyongyang has consistently rejected such accusations.
Key Perspectives
Kim Yo Jong, sister of Kim Jong Un: said Pyongyang views the FBI announcement as "an extension of Washington's invariable hostile policy toward" North Korea, and that there is "no need to sit face to face with such unreliable and hostile persons", ruling out dialogue until that policy is abandoned.
The FBI: said North Korean hackers orchestrated the Binance theft, attributing it to a hacking group known as TraderTraitor, which it says was also behind a $1.5bn hack of the Bybit exchange last year.
Donald Trump, US President: said in August he plans to meet Kim Jong Un later this year, seeking to revive the bond he claims to have forged during his first term, and said it was important to "get along" with Kim.
The US, South Korea and Japan: in October reiterated their call for the "complete denuclearisation" of the Korean Peninsula.
What to Watch
- What South Korean and US analysis of the launches identifies about the missile types and trajectory, and whether further tests follow.
- Whether the planned Trump-Kim meeting later this year is confirmed, postponed or abandoned given Pyongyang's stated refusal to talk.
- Any further North Korean statements on the Binance theft, and how Binance and US authorities proceed with recovery and attribution.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedNorth Korea fired several missiles into the Sea of Japan on Wednesday, according to South Korea’s military.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “North Korea has fired several missiles into the Sea of Japan, according to South Korea’s military”
- SupportedThe launches were North Korea’s fourth such weapons launch in a month.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “The tests marked Pyongyang’s fourth such weapons launch in a month.”
- SupportedSouth Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said several missiles were launched from the Sondok area toward the Sea of Japan.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Wednesday that it had detected the launch of several missiles from the Sondok area on North Korea’s eastern coast towards the Sea of Japan.”
- SupportedPyongyang denied involvement in the Binance hack and dismissed the FBI announcement as a provocation a day before the launches.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “They came a day after North Korea denied involvement in the Binance hack, dismissing an FBI announcement that North Korean hackers were responsible as “a trite provocation”.”
- SupportedBinance said hackers stole more than $6bn in crypto assets.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, said on Friday that hackers stole more than $6bn”
- SupportedBinance said the theft appeared to be the largest cryptocurrency heist on record.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, said on Friday that hackers stole more than $6bn in what appears to be the largest cryptocurrency heist on record.”
- SupportedThe FBI said North Korean hackers orchestrated the theft, attributing it to TraderTraitor, which was also behind a $1.5bn Bybit hack last year.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “The FBI later said North Korean hackers had orchestrated the theft, attributing it to a hacking group known as TraderTraitor, which was also behind a $1.5bn hack of the Bybit exchange last year.”
- SupportedKim Yo Jong described the FBI announcement as “an extension of Washington's invariable hostile policy toward” North Korea.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “Early on Wednesday, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said Pyongyang viewed the FBI announcement as “an extension of Washington’s invariable hostile policy toward” North Korea.”
- SupportedKim Yo Jong said, “It is our clear stand that we have no need to sit face to face with such unreliable and hostile persons.”Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: ““It is our clear stand that we have no need to sit face to face with such unreliable and hostile persons,” she said.”
- SupportedKim Yo Jong said, “The choice for peace includes dialogue, of course, but this is not surely equated with national interests for us.”Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: ““The choice for peace includes dialogue, of course, but this is not surely equated with national interests for us.””
- SupportedTrump said in August that he planned to meet Kim Jong Un later that year, and said Pyongyang had 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “US President Donald Trump said in August that he plans to meet Kim Jong Un later this year, seeking to revive the bond he claims to have forged with the North Korean leader during his first term. Trump said it was important to “get along” with Kim, adding that Pyongyang had 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons.”
- SupportedPyongyang said on Tuesday that it had tested a new cluster warhead for strategic cruise missiles the previous day, claiming it could destroy 5 to 6 hectares with “high-density power”.Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera: “On Tuesday, Pyongyang said it had tested a new cluster warhead for strategic cruise missiles the previous day, claiming it could destroy an area of 5 to 6 hectares (12 to 15 acres) with “high-density power”.”