North Korea Rejects US Hacking Claims amid Evidence of Advanced Cyber Prowess
North Korea on Sunday dismissed US allegations of posing a cyber threat as “absurd slander,” despite mounting evidence of the regime’s increasingly sophisticated cyber arsenal.
The statements from Pyongyang came in response to a series of accusations from Washington, which claims North Korea uses state-sponsored hacking and cryptocurrency theft to fund its weapons programs and evade international sanctions.
North Korea Rebuttal
The North Korean Foreign Ministry rejected allegations that it had been the origin of recent cybercrimes, accusing the US of spreading false information.
In statements carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry said that the US has mobilized its government agencies and media organizations to “spread incorrect understanding” about North Korea and highlight a “non-existent cyber threat.”
“This is nothing but an absurd slander to tarnish the image of our country by spreading false information in pursuit of political purposes,” the spokesperson stated.
Hostile Policy
The Spokesperson also said that the US portrays itself as “the biggest victim” of these alleged attacks, in what he called an extension of Washington’s hostile policy toward Pyongyang and politically motivated accusations.
“It is our consistent policy position to thoroughly oppose and reject any impure attempt to use cyber issues as a political tool for violating sovereignty and interfering in internal affairs,” the spokesperson said, warning that Pyongyang will not tolerate “hostile forces’ confrontational moves” across multiple domains, including cyber space.
North Korea will “actively take all necessary measures for defending the interests of the state and protecting the rights and interests of its citizens,” the spokesperson noted.
US Cyber Accusations
Pyongyang has faced repeated accusations of state-sponsored cyber activity. This included utilizing hacking, cryptocurrency theft and networks of overseas IT workers to generate revenue for funding its weapons programs, according to Reuters.
In April 2026, the US Justice Department sentenced two nationals for facilitating North Koreans securing remote IT jobs that generated $5 million in illicit revenue for North Korea’s government.
Furthermore, the US Treasury sanctioned six individuals and two entities in March for facilitating North Korean IT worker schemes that defraud US businesses and generate revenue to fund Pyongyang’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs, including nearly $800 million in 2024.
The Treasury and State Departments also imposed sanctions on North Korean cyber operatives and foreign facilitators in July 2025 for using cyber-enabled theft to fund missile and nuclear development.
Pyongyang Cyber Capabilities
North Korea has long been accused of cultivating a sophisticated cyber army as a tool to generate revenue for its nuclear and weapons programs, as the country remains battered by international sanctions.
From 2017 to 2024, North Korean hackers have managed to steal more than $3 billion in cryptocurrency, according to the UN estimates. Such digital heists have funded about half of Pyongyang’s missile program, according to a White House official.
In April, North Korean hacking groups launched two massive cyberattacks on Drift Protocol and KelpDAO totaling $577 million, accounting for a staggering 76% of all global crypto hack losses so far in 2026, according to the blockchain intelligence company TRM Labs.
Meanwhile, security experts told CNN that suspected North Korean hackers successfully infiltrated a software package utilized by thousands of American firms, launching an attack whose recovery efforts are expected to span several months.
In 2025, North Korean hackers seized $1.5 billion in cryptocurrency during a single operation, marking the largest digital asset theft in history at the time.
