North Korea experienced a severe internet outage on Saturday, disconnecting the secretive state from the global digital landscape for several hours. The disruption rendered multiple government websites, including official news outlets, inaccessible and crippled the country’s already limited internet connectivity.

Although the exact cause of the outage remains uncertain, researchers believe it likely stemmed from internal technical issues rather than a coordinated cyberattack. This conclusion comes from observations that connections routed through both China and Russia were also impacted—two key conduits for North Korea’s digital access.

Government Websites Go Dark

According to real-time checks conducted by Reuters, critical North Korean websites such as the official state news services, the Foreign Ministry, and the national airline Air Koryo went offline early Saturday. These digital platforms only began to recover gradually by midday.

Junade Ali, a UK-based cybersecurity analyst who closely monitors North Korea’s online infrastructure, confirmed that the entire internet framework supporting the regime had dropped off monitoring systems. Email servers were also affected by the disruption.

“It’s difficult to determine whether this was a deliberate shutdown or an unintended failure,” Ali remarked. “However, the evidence so far points toward an internal cause rather than an external cyberattack.”

Experts Suspect Internal Technical Failure

Martyn Williams, a North Korea technology expert at the Stimson Center in Washington, echoed similar sentiments. He noted that both the Chinese and Russian connections—vital internet gateways for North Korea—were nonfunctional during the outage. This suggests the issue may have originated from within North Korea’s internal infrastructure, rather than being the result of external interference.

Officials from South Korea’s cyber terror response center, a division within the police force that monitors North Korean cyber activity, were not immediately available for comment.

A Tightly Controlled Digital Sphere

North Korea’s digital footprint is one of the most tightly restricted in the world. While the vast majority of citizens remain completely cut off from the global internet, they are permitted access only to a government-run intranet. This closed network contains approved content and lacks any connection to the broader international web.

Only a select elite within the ruling government and military enjoy access to the open internet. These privileged users typically manage websites designed to disseminate state propaganda to global audiences, rather than serving domestic users.

The country’s official internet infrastructure consists of a small number of IP addresses and relies heavily on external routing through Chinese and Russian servers. This limited framework makes the entire network particularly vulnerable to both internal mishaps and potential external threats.

A History of Suspicious Outages

This is not the first time North Korea has experienced an abrupt internet blackout. Previous incidents have led observers to suspect cyberattacks, although concrete evidence has often been lacking.

Despite the regime’s isolated digital status, North Korea is widely believed to possess sophisticated cyber capabilities. It has cultivated elite teams of state-sponsored hackers, most notably the Lazarus Group, which operates under the country’s main intelligence body. These units have been implicated in numerous high-profile cyberattacks targeting foreign corporations, governments, and financial institutions.

In recent years, North Korean hackers have increasingly shifted focus toward cyber-enabled theft, particularly in the realm of cryptocurrency. Investigations from various international watchdogs have attributed several billion dollars in stolen and laundered digital assets to the Lazarus Group. The North Korean government, however, consistently denies involvement in such activities.

Implications of the Outage

While Saturday’s outage was temporary, it highlights the fragility and opacity of North Korea’s internet ecosystem. For a nation that relies on a delicate balance of limited connectivity and cyber offense, any technical failure raises questions about infrastructure stability and operational vulnerabilities.

Moreover, given North Korea’s dependence on digital propaganda aimed at the outside world, prolonged internet disruptions can hinder the regime’s ability to communicate its narrative globally. This could also impact cyber operations, intelligence collection, and the regime’s increasingly vital revenue streams from illicit cyber activities.

The outage reinforces North Korea’s unique position in the digital age—simultaneously a near-black hole of public access and a sophisticated player in the dark undercurrents of global cybercrime.