North Korea’s internet is facing a major disruption this weekend, with key websites inaccessible across the country, according to a UK-based researcher. The cause of the outage appears to stem from internal issues rather than external cyberattacks, though officials have yet to comment on the situation.
Junade Ali, an independent researcher who tracks North Korea’s online activity, reported that all internet traffic into the country — including connections routed through China and Russia — was currently affected. “North Korea’s entire internet infrastructure is currently not visible on global monitoring systems,” Ali told Reuters. He added, “It’s difficult to say whether this is intentional or accidental, but it seems more likely to be an internal matter rather than the result of an external cyberattack.”
South Korean authorities, including the Police Cyber Terror Response Centre, which regularly monitors North Korean cyber operations, have not provided any official response so far.
Meanwhile, on the military front, North Korea has relaunched a key naval vessel after a failed initial attempt last month. According to state-run media outlet KCNA, a 5,000-tonne destroyer that sustained damage during its first launch in May was successfully relaunched on Thursday after undergoing structural adjustments.
The ship is now docked at a pier, where experts will conduct further inspections of its hull over the coming week. Full restoration is scheduled to be completed ahead of a significant ruling party meeting later this month.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had reportedly been present during the initial failed launch and strongly criticised the mishap, calling it a result of “carelessness” that harmed the country’s national pride. He subsequently ordered that the vessel be fully repaired in time for the upcoming party event.
The developments come at a sensitive time for Pyongyang, which continues to showcase its military advancements while contending with technological and infrastructural challenges.
