Major North Korean state media websites, including the Rodong Sinmun and the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), are currently experiencing access disruptions.
Amid unconfirmed rumors circulating overseas that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has passed away, attention is focused on what is happening to North Korea's internet network.
According to the Ministry of Unification and other sources, the websites of the Rodong Sinmun and KCNA have been inaccessible since the evening of October 20.
The disruption was not limited to these two media outlets.
Some 40 websites utilizing North Korea's top-level domain '.kp', including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minju Choson, and Naenara, have also experienced outages or unstable connections.
The exact cause has not yet been confirmed.
While some raise the possibility of a large-scale external cyberattack, it remains unknown whether an actual hacking attack took place.
This access disruption occurred immediately after rumors regarding health abnormalities surrounding leader Kim Jong-un spread overseas.
Previously, outlets such as the New York Post in the United States and The Sun in the British media reported online rumors claiming that Chairman Kim had collapsed from a cerebral hemorrhage and was urgently transferred to a hospital in Beijing, China.
Some claims even went as far as asserting that Chairman Kim had already died, though no objective evidence has been presented to support this.
On October 20, North Korea released multiple photos claiming that Chairman Kim had visited a garment and footwear exhibition the previous day accompanied by his wife, Ri Sol-ju, and their daughter, Ju-ae.
The photos captured Chairman Kim inspecting children's shoes and giving instructions to accompanying officials.
However, right after these reports were released, access disruptions occurred on North Korea's state media websites.
This is not the first time North Korea's state-run media internet network has been paralyzed.
In March 2013, the websites of the KCNA and Rodong Sinmun also experienced access failures due to a cyberattack.
In late 2014, following hacking controversies surrounding the U.S. movie "The Interview"—which depicts the assassination of Chairman Kim—North Korea's entire internet network was paralyzed for several days.
Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Kim Gi-hyeon | Graphics by Lee Su-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
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