South Korea is investigating the online leak of passport data of President Lee Jae-myung and more than 160 other officials, a minister said Tuesday.
Local media reported on Monday that a computer file containing personal details, including passport numbers and dates of birth of the president, the first lady, and senior officials accompanying Lee on a trip abroad, was uploaded to a website in June, according to what Agence France-Presse reported.
Reports said that the file was uploaded to VirusTotal, a malware scanning platform, before Lee's visit to Europe, and remained accessible for about five months.
It is not yet clear who carried it or why.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has since renewed the passports of all those affected, including Lee, while deleting the data from the website, according to what ministry spokesman Park Do-sun told reporters on Tuesday.
He said, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently working with the National Police Agency and other agencies to determine how the information was leaked.”
He explained that the ministry is treating the incident as a data leak and not a cyberattack, and is examining the computers and email addresses that were used in preparing for the president's trip.
Presidential Chief of Staff Lim Kwang-hyun said at an emergency meeting to discuss the data breach that the leak was “a serious matter that should not be taken lightly,” according to Lee’s office.
He added that the incident required “an in-depth investigation to determine how the leak occurred, the amount of information that was revealed, and whether it caused any actual damage.”
North Korea conducted tests on strategic cruise missiles, the official news agency reported on Tuesday, a few days after conducting similar tests using cluster munitions.
This test, which was conducted on Monday, “enhanced the ability to direct a vertical strike toward the target by improving the ability to maneuver in the final stage of the cruise missile’s path,” according to what the Korean Central News Agency reported.
The agency added: “The medium-sized fission warhead installed on the missile is capable of turning an area ranging between five and six hectares into ash when used with its maximum destructive capacity.”
A North Korean official stated that this test was conducted “because our armed forces must defend the country’s security and deter all kinds of threats,” according to what was reported by Agence France-Presse.
Unlike ballistic missile tests, cruise missile tests are not subject to sanctions.
Neighboring South Korea did not announce the exercises conducted by North Korea on Sunday and Monday.
Jang Do-young, spokesman for the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, explained to reporters on Monday that “making a decision on whether or not to announce an order depends on a precise military assessment, which takes into account the protection of means, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, operational security and other factors.”
He added: “Our army does not announce all launches carried out by North Korea.”
North Korea on Tuesday denounced the FBI's accusations that Pyongyang was behind a massive hacking operation in which $6 billion was stolen from the Binance platform, while leader Kim Jong Un's sister described it as a "dangerous political provocation."
The North Korean Central News Agency quoted a statement by Kim Yo Jong on Tuesday, in which he said that the FBI’s claim is nothing but “ridiculous rhetoric that does not contain anything new,” after Washington had also previously accused it of being behind the major hacking operation that occurred on the “Bybit” platform last year.
The statement added that “the United States misleading international public opinion by suggesting that all cyber crimes (...) in the world are our creation is a dangerous political provocation” against North Korea.
On Saturday, the FBI accused North Korea of being behind this theft, blaming a group of North Korean hackers known as Trader Traitor.
This is the same group that the FBI accused of stealing $1.5 billion from the Bybit platform in February 2025, which was considered the largest theft in the field of cryptocurrencies at the time.
Kim Yo Jong added: “This is a malicious attempt to harm North Korea’s international image and undermine its dignity and national prestige, and it is another grave violation of the country’s sovereignty.”
She continued: “The government’s consistent political position is to firmly oppose all forms of malicious actions in cyberspace.”
The Binance platform is the first in the world in terms of digital currency trading volume, and it has 335 million users. News of the cyber attack led to a sharp decline in the prices of most major cryptocurrencies on Friday.
US President Donald Trump, who constantly boasts of his good personal relations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, expressed doubts about Pyongyang's involvement in the hacking operation.
He told reporters on Saturday: “I am not worried. We're going to find out more. “We don’t know if North Korea is responsible.”
Kim Yo Jong said in her statement that the new allegations “once again confirmed Washington’s hostile position towards Pyongyang... We have issues that require reconsideration from various aspects regarding the hostile and completely unacceptable American position.”
