North Korea fires missiles after rejecting U.S. claims over Binance hack

North Korea launched multiple missiles towards the sea on Wednesday (November 4, 2026), South Korea’s military said, hours after Pyongyang said it saw no need to resume diplomacy with Washington in protest against accusations that North Korean hackers were behind a recent cryptocurrency heist at Binance.

Observers said North Korea was likely seeking to pressure the United States to drop what it calls its hostile policy and offer concessions if it wants to restore ties between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected several missiles fired towards North Korea’s eastern waters. South Korean and U.S. authorities were analysing details of the launches, it said, adding that Seoul remained ready to repel any potential provocations.

Earlier on Wednesday, Kim’s sister, senior official Kim Yo Jong, again disputed an FBI announcement that North Korean hackers were responsible for the Binance hack, calling it “an extension of Washington’s invariable hostile policy toward” Pyongyang.

“It is our clear stand that we have no need to sit face to face with such unreliable and hostile persons,” she said. “The choice for peace includes dialogue of course, but this is not surely equated with national interests for us.”

In a statement on Tuesday (November 3, 2026), she described the FBI announcement as “a trite provocation”.

Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, said on Friday (October 30, 2026) that hackers had stolen more than $6 billion in what appeared to be the largest cryptocurrency heist on record. The FBI later said North Korean hackers orchestrated the theft, attributing it to a hacking group known as TraderTraitor, which was also behind a $1.5 billion hack of the Bybit exchange last year.

North Korea has accelerated its weapons tests in recent months, likely seeking greater leverage in potential diplomacy with the U.S. after Mr. Trump expressed eagerness to restore ties with Mr. Kim. The latest launches came amid vote counting in the U.S. midterm elections.

Also on Wednesday, North Korea’s state KCNA news agency released a photograph showing parts of a warship under construction that would likely be the country’s biggest naval vessel. KCNA said Mr. Kim expressed satisfaction during a visit to the Nampho Shipyard this week over the warship, which it described as “incomparably huge” compared with the country’s 5,000-tonne destroyers.

Mr. Kim previously said North Korea planned to build a 10,000-tonne strategic guided missile cruiser.

Tensions between the two Koreas have also deepened since mine blasts at their border in September (2026) wounded three South Korean soldiers. Seoul accused North Korea of burying the mines south of the border and demanded an apology. Pyongyang denied responsibility and warned of retaliation if provoked.

North Korea later threatened to resume propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts and deploy new weapons systems along the border.