The US$6.3 billion stolen in the Binance crypto theft is equivalent to about one-sixth of North Korea's annual national income, according to an analyst.
Binance's logo and hacker code are seen in this illustration taken on Oct 30, 2026. (File photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
Binance's logo and hacker code are seen in this illustration taken on Oct 30, 2026. (File photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
SEOUL: The recent US$6.3 billion Binance cryptocurrency theft, which the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has blamed on North Korea, has drawn fresh attention to the country's cyber capabilities and their growing importance to Pyongyang.
Analysts say North Korea has spent years systematically building its hacking operations, gaining a reputation as a major force in global cybercrime.
"You could say North Korea is good at choosing what to focus on," said Lee Ho-ryung, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA).
"In hacking, it's number one. You can see that as having invested heavily in illegal theft."
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Lee added: "They (North Korea) select children gifted in math and science early and have them study intensively in hacking and code-breaking, this kind of illegal work."