7 Jun 2025

North Korea's internet hit by a major outage

1:40 pm on 7 June 2025
This picture taken on December 4, 2023 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on December 5, 2023 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un addressing the Fifth National Mothers' Congress in Pyongyang. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP) / South Korea OUT / REPUBLIC OF KOREA OUT
---EDITORS NOTE--- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO/KCNA VIA KNS" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS / THIS PICTURE WAS MADE AVAILABLE BY A THIRD PARTY. AFP CAN NOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, LOCATION, DATE AND CONTENT OF THIS IMAGE --- /

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Photo: STR / AFP

North Korea's internet is experiencing a major outage on Saturday, said a UK-based researcher, adding that the cause may be internal rather than a cyberattack.

North Korea's main news websites and its Foreign Ministry internet site were inaccessible on Saturday morning, according to checks by Reuters.

"A major outage is currently occurring on North Korea's internet - affecting all routes whether they come in via China or Russia," said Junade Ali, a UK-based researcher who monitors the North Korean internet.

North Korea's entire internet infrastructure is not showing up on systems that can monitor internet activities, he said.

"Hard to say if this is intentional or accidental - but seems like this is internal rather than an attack," he said.

Officials at South Korea's Police cyber terror response centre which monitors North Korea's cyber activities could not be reached for comment.

- Reuters

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