A spokesperson for North Korea’s foreign ministry has responded to the deluge of accusations related to crypto thefts and crimes thrown at Kim Jong Un’s regime, according to North Korea’s state news outlet KCNA. In a rare statement on the matter, the state-sponsored news organization referred to the alleged cyber threat coming out of North Korea as “non-existent” and claimed, “It is our consistent policy stand to protect cyber space.” KCNA also referred to those accusing North Korea of committing crypto crimes as “U.S. government organs, reptile media organs and plot-breeding organizations.” This appears to be the first time North Korea has issued a direct public denial of crypto-related accusations through official state channels. A large number of cyber crimes involving the theft of crypto assets, particularly from exchanges based in South Korea, have been tied back to North Korea by blockchain analytics firms, law enforcement agencies, and other authorities around the world. In fact, these alleged crypto crimes are now viewed as a key profit-making mechanism for the North Korean regime as a whole, and a U.S. Treasury official previously claimed that these illicit gains have been used to fund the country’s nuclear weapons program.