Has South Korea started considering sanctions over North Korea’s alleged Binance cryptocurrency theft?

No. A Unification Ministry official said the government had not fully grasped the circumstances of the hacking case, and discussion of a response had not begun. The official said internal sharing and discussion were still needed.

How did Kim Yo-jong respond to the FBI’s allegation that North Korea stole cryptocurrency from Binance?

Kim Yo-jong rejected the accusation and called it a “grave political provocation” against North Korea. The article also notes that North Korea has consistently denied involvement in previous cyber theft allegations.

Why did Unification Minister Chung Dong-young oppose sanctions over the Sept. 21 DMZ land mine blast?

Chung said sanctions would provoke North Korea without producing any positive outcome. The blast inside the Demilitarized Zone wounded three South Korean soldiers, two of them seriously, and opposition parties criticized Chung as too lenient toward Pyongyang.

No talks yet on sanctions over N. Korea's alleged Binance theft: unification ministry official

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Summary

A Unification Ministry official said Thursday in Seoul that the government had not begun discussing sanctions over North Korea’s alleged theft of cryptocurrency from Binance. The official said the government had not fully established the circumstances of the case and still needed internal discussion. The FBI said last week that North Korea was responsible for stealing more than $6 billion, while Kim Yo-jong rejected the accusation. Separately, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young opposed sanctions over a September land mine blast in the DMZ that injured three South Korean soldiers.

Key Facts

The ministry official said the government had not reached the stage of internal sharing and discussion about how to respond to the alleged theft.
Kim Yo-jong called the accusation a “grave political provocation” against North Korea.
Two of the three South Korean soldiers injured in the Sept. 21 DMZ land mine blast were seriously wounded.
Chung said sanctions over the blast would provoke North Korea without producing a positive outcome, while opposition parties criticized him as too lenient toward Pyongyang.

By Yonhap

Published Nov 5, 2026 3:02 pm KST

Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, attends a wreath-laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 2, 2019. AP-Yonhap

The government has not begun discussing sanctions on North Korea over its alleged theft of a massive amount of cryptocurrency, a unification ministry official said Thursday.

"As of now, the government has not fully grasped the exact circumstances of the hacking case, so a discussion on how to respond to it has not even begun," the official told reporters at the government complex in Seoul.

"Internal sharing and discussion inside the government are needed, but we have not reached that stage," the official added.

Last week, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said North Korea was responsible for the theft of more than $6 billion in cryptocurrency from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange.

Earlier this week, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, rejected the accusation, calling it a "grave political provocation" against the North.

North Korea has been blamed for cyber thefts before and has consistently denied any involvement.

Separately, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young has opposed sanctions proposed against the North over the Sept. 21 land mine blast inside the Demilitarized Zone that wounded three South Korean soldiers, two of them seriously.

Opposition parties have criticized him as being too lenient toward Pyongyang, while Chung has said such a measure would only provoke the North without producing any positive outcome.

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