North Korea Faces Major Internet Outage, Cause Unclear

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea experienced a significant internet outage on June 7, 2025, affecting all connections coming from China and Russia. Junade Ali, a researcher monitoring the country’s internet, indicated that the outage appears to be internal rather than the result of a cyberattack.

Ali reported that the entire North Korean internet infrastructure is not appearing on global monitoring systems. He stated, “A major outage is currently occurring on North Korea’s internet – affecting all routes whether they come in via China or Russia. Hard to say if this is intentional or accidental – but seems like this is internal rather than an attack.”

Major North Korean websites, including the Foreign Ministry and the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA), were unavailable when media outlets attempted to access them. Once the outage began, it was unclear how many citizens could connect to the global internet, as direct access is limited to a small percentage of North Korea’s roughly 25 million residents.

Most citizens access a tightly controlled intranet known as Kwangmyong, which does not connect to the global internet. Previous incidents indicate that significant outages in North Korea have often been linked to cyberattacks. However, Ali’s assessment suggests this incident may not follow that pattern.

North Korea has a history of cyber activities, with hackers linked to the government accused of various cybercrimes, including a record-setting theft of cryptocurrency in 2024. Despite this history, Ali and other experts believe this outage is not the result of such attacks.

The South Korea Police Cyber Terror Response Center, which tracks North Korean cyber activity, was unable to provide a comment regarding the situation.