Summary of external news of North Korea this week

SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of external news on North Korea this week.

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Trump open to talks with N. Korean leader but no meeting scheduled: Rubio

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump remains open to talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un if Pyongyang is willing to discuss issues of concern to Washington and its allies, but no meeting has been scheduled, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday.

Rubio made the remarks during a press conference following a Group of 20 (G20) foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta.

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FBI says N. Korea responsible for over US$6 bln crypto theft from Binance

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said Saturday that North Korea was responsible for the theft of more than US$6 billion in cryptocurrency from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, earlier this week.

"The FBI is releasing information advising the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was responsible for the theft of more than $6 billion in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, on or about October 29, 2026," the agency said in a cyber alert, referring to North Korea by its official name.

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U.N. releases S. Korea's letter decrying N.K. mine blasts, defending border warning shots

NEW YORK/SEOUL -- The United Nations has released a letter that South Korea sent to the president of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) to decry land mine blasts in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in September and urge North Korea to apologize for the incident that left three South Korean soldiers injured.

South Korean Ambassador to the U.N. Cha Ji-hoon sent the letter to the president on Oct. 22, also defending Seoul's border operations inside the DMZ separating the two Koreas, including warning shots, as "legitimate" and "defensive" measures to prevent North Korean troops from crossing the Military Demarcation Line (MDL).

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U.S. reiterates concerns over N. Korean cybercrime following Kim Yo-jong's denial of Binance theft

WASHINGTON -- The United States on Tuesday reiterated concerns over North Korea's use of cybercrime to finance its weapons programs, following a denial from the North Korean leader's sister Kim Yo-jong of allegations that Pyongyang was behind a multibillion-dollar theft from cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

On Tuesday (Korean time), the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un flatly dismissed the findings of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) accusing Pyongyang for a crypto theft of over US$6 billion from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, calling it a "grave political provocation" against the North.

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China's top diplomat meets visiting N.K. party secretary

BEIJING/SEOUL -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday met a senior North Korean ruling party official and his delegation in Beijing, and reiterated China's commitment to cementing bilateral relations, according to his party.

Wang held the talks with Kim Song-nam, a member of the Political Bureau of the Workers' Party of Korea and a party secretary, according to a post on the official WeChat account of the International Department of the Communist Party of China's central committee.

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