Donald Trump appeared to cast doubt on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s conclusion that North Korea was responsible for what officials described as the largest hack in history.
On Saturday evening, the FBI said its investigation had determined that TraderTraitor, a North Korean cybercrime operation, carried out an unprecedented attack on Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange.
Binance disclosed on Thursday that the breach had caused an estimated $6.3 billion in losses, placing the incident among the most serious cryptocurrency security failures ever recorded.
TraderTraitor is widely believed to have links to the Lazarus Group, the North Korean hacking network accused of breaking into Sony Pictures in 2014. That attack was reportedly retaliation for The Interview, a comedy depicting the fictional assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump has often referred to Kim as “Little Rocket Man” while criticizing Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.
Hours after the FBI’s Cyber Branch released its findings, Trump responded cautiously, saying he was not certain North Korea was behind the attack.
A reporter questioned Trump about the investigation Saturday night at Mar-a-Lago, where he said his administration was still reviewing the details.
“We don’t know if it’s North Korea,” Trump said.
He added that if Pyongyang was responsible, “we’ll talk to North Korea about it.”
Trump also said he had long considered the situation “a little bit dangerous,” but noted that officials believed the problem was largely under control. “We’ll see,” he said.
Donald Trump questioned the FBI’s findings regarding an alleged North Korean cyberattack on Saturday. The president and Kim Jong Un, whose relationship has been complicated, are pictured together in 2018
North Korean hacking group TraderTraitor has been linked to the Binance breach. Kim Jong Un has not publicly accepted responsibility for investigations involving the group
The FBI, led by Director Kash Patel, said Saturday that investigators had uncovered an unprecedented attack targeting Binance
Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said in a video message Friday that the exchange was working around the clock and would cover the losses from the hack. He also sought to reassure customers that their assets remained secure.
“This was a complex attack,” Teng said, explaining that the hackers had used a self-destruct feature that complicated efforts to track the stolen cryptocurrency.
Binance said Saturday that it had repurchased 90 percent of the stolen cryptocurrency. The remaining 10 percent, the company said, would take longer to recover because the tokens involved were less liquid and harder to buy in large quantities.
TraderTraitor has been connected to a series of sophisticated, multibillion-dollar cyber schemes. Its alleged activity stretches back to the 2014 Sony Pictures hack, which followed the release of The Interview, a fictional comedy centered on a plot to kill North Korea’s leader.
North Korea never formally claimed responsibility for the Sony attack. However, the country’s sophisticated cyber operations have become a significant part of its international strategy. A United Nations panel reported in 2024 that cyberattacks generated roughly half of North Korea’s foreign-currency earnings.
Security officials have repeatedly warned that proceeds from North Korean cybercrime help fund the country’s military and nuclear weapons programs.
The Daily Mail has contacted the White House and the FBI for comment.
The FBI’s announcement comes against a tense international backdrop, as relations between Trump and Kim remain complicated and increasingly strained.
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Earlier this month, five people with knowledge of their relationship told Reuters that the possibility of a meeting between the two world leaders was fading.
Donald Trump told a reporter at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday that ‘we don’t know if it’s North Korea’ despite the FBI’s statement pinning it on TraderTraitor
The US reportedly did not receive a response from North Korea on organizing a meeting before a regional summit in China in November.
When asked about meeting with Kim, Trump told reporters at the White House: ‘I get along with him very well, and I’m not sure that anybody’s asking for a meeting.’
Kim has not shied away from meetings with other world leaders. He arrived at the Chinese border last weekend for a surprise meeting with one of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s top lieutenants.
In September, Kim joined Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin for a military parade in Beijing. Xi also visited North Korea over the summer for the first time in seven years.
Trump became the first US president to set foot in North Korea during his first term, meeting with Kim at the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
He said at the time that he had ‘no problem’ going to the country and was ‘proud to step over the line.’
Kim Jong Un has not scheduled a meeting with Trump, but met with a high-ranking official in China earlier this month
Later that year, Trump told reporters he received a ‘beautiful letter’ from Kim. In 2020, Kim sent a get-well message to the US president after he tested positive for Covid-19.
Patricia Kim, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told the Washington Post that the geopolitical landscape has shifted significantly since the two world leaders first met in 2018.
‘Back then, Washington was negotiating from a position of considerably greater leverage,’ she argued.
‘Today, Kim is in a much stronger position. He is far less diplomatically isolated, having forged a new security partnership with Moscow and deepened its economic and political ties with Beijing. And he’s done this all while continuing to expand North Korea’s nuclear and missile capabilities.’
Trump has continually promised to keep nuclear capabilities out of the hands of foreign adversaries.
This foreign policy goal launched the US into a war with Iran and prompted negotiations with North Korea.
Jong Un has also strengthened ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two are pictured above together in Beijing last year
In 2018, Trump and Kim released a joint statement on North Korea’s denuclearization. The White House called the step an ‘epochal event of great significance in overcoming decades of tensions.’
However, in the years since, North Korea has only increased its nuclear arsenal, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Kim has condemned the US’s war in Iran but has supplied ammunition and troops to Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, deepening ties between Pyongyang and Moscow.
As the foreign landscape changes, the US has fewer bargaining chips to hold North Korea accountable for cybercrime.