Reuters: North Korea Has Built a Systematic Hacker Training System, Linked to the $6.3 Billion Binance Theft

North Korea runs a state-backed talent pipeline that selects roughly 150–200 middle-school students annually for computer training, with top performers receiving Pyongyang housing and foreign-currency rewards and military cyber units keeping up to 30% of attack proceeds, according to Reuters. The program feeds an estimated 8,400-strong cyber force, as cited by South Korean intelligence, and operatives reportedly use AI tools including ChatGPT and Claude Code for coding and identity masking. The report ties the system to the $6.3 billion Binance hack, which the FBI and Binance attributed to North Korea, though Pyongyang denies the claim. The scale and institutionalization of the program matter because it suggests a steady, repeatable supply of attackers targeting crypto exchanges and DeFi protocols rather than a one-off threat.