North Korea launches missiles toward the sea as Pyongyang protests against US claims on Binance hack

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea launched multiple missiles toward the sea on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, hours after Pyongyang said it saw no need to resume diplomacy with Washington in protest of accusations that North Korean hackers were behind the recent cryptocurrency heist at Binance.

Observers say North Korea was likely pressuring the U.S. to drop what it calls its hostility against the North 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 the launches of several missiles fired toward North Korea's eastern waters. It said South Korean and U.S. authorities were analyzing details of the launches. It said South Korea maintains a readiness to repel any potential provocations by North Korea under a solid alliance with the U.S.

The launches came a day after North Korea denied involvement in the hack at Binance, dismissing as “a trite provocation” an FBI announcement that North Korean hackers were responsible for the incident.

Kim's sister, senior official Kim Yo Jong, issued a statement early Wednesday saying Pyongyang views the FBI announcement as “an extension of Washington’s invariable hostile policy toward” North Korea.

“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.”

Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, said Friday that hackers stole more than $6 billion in what appears to be the largest cryptocurrency heist on record. The FBI later said the theft was orchestrated by North Korean hackers, attributing the attack to a hacking group known as TraderTraitor, which was also behind a $1.5 billion hack of the Bybit exchange last year.

In recent months, North Korea has accelerated its weapons tests in a likely bid to increase its leverage in potential diplomacy with the U.S. after Trump expressed his eagerness to restore diplomacy with Kim Jong Un .

North Korea’s recent weapons tests include a submarine-launched ballistic missile, hypersonic missiles, attack drones and cluster bombs designed to be carried by ballistic missiles. Pyongyang said Tuesday that it tested a new cluster warhead for strategic cruise missiles the previous day, claiming it could destroy an area of 5 to 6 hectares (12 to 15 acres) with “high-density power.”

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

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