21.10.2026 14:51
Following unverified claims that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un died after suffering a brain hemorrhage, a mysterious internet outage occurred in the country. Access to about 40 official websites, including KCNA and Rodong Sinmun, was unavailable, and the possibility of a large-scale cyberattack was raised. After the death rumors, the North Korean administration published photos of Kim Jong-un attending an exhibition with his wife and daughter.
After death claims raised regarding the health condition of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, a striking development occurred in the country. It was reported that access problems were experienced to about 40 internet sites, including North Korea's official news agency KCNA and the ruling Workers' Party organ Rodong Sinmun. While the cause of the outages has not yet been determined, the possibility of a cyberattack came to the agenda.
NORTH KOREA'S OFFICIAL WEBSITES INACCESSIBLE
According to information obtained from South Korea's Ministry of Unification and related sources, the websites of North Korea's leading state media organizations Rodong Sinmun and the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) could not be accessed starting on the evening of October 20.
It was stated that the access problem was not limited to these two news organizations and affected many internet sites using North Korea's national internet domain extension ".kp".
It was reported that access outages or connection problems were experienced at about 40 addresses, including the websites of official organizations such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minju Joson and Naenara.
POSSIBILITY OF CYBERATTACK ON AGENDA
The cause of the widespread outage in North Korea's internet infrastructure has not yet become clear. Some assessments focused on the possibility that the access problems may have resulted from a large-scale external cyberattack. However, officials stated that there was no verified information indicating that any hacking attack occurred. It is not yet known whether the outages stemmed from a technical failure or external interference.
CLAIMS THAT KIM JONG-UN DIED HAD SPREAD
The problems experienced on internet sites coincided with the period when rumors about the health condition of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un came to the agenda in international public opinion. In online claims reported by the US-based New York Post and the British The Sun newspapers, it was alleged that Kim Jong-un suffered a brain hemorrhage, deteriorated, and was urgently taken to a hospital in Beijing, the capital of China.
In some posts spreading on social media, it was claimed that the North Korean leader lost his life. However, no concrete evidence was presented that Kim Jong-un died or suffered a brain hemorrhage. The claims were not verified by independent sources.
PHOTOS RELEASED AFTER DEATH CLAIMS
The North Korean administration shared new photos of Kim Jong-un with the public on October 20 after the rumors came to the agenda. State media announced that the North Korean leader visited a clothing and shoe exhibition with his wife Ri Sol-ju and daughter Ju-ae on October 19.
In the published photos, Kim Jong-un was seen examining children's shoes and giving various instructions to accompanying officials. However, it drew attention that access problems occurred on websites belonging to North Korean state media immediately after the release of these images. No evidence was put forward showing a direct connection between the two developments.
SIMILAR OUTAGES HAD OCCURRED BEFORE
The access problems experienced on websites belonging to North Korean state media brought cyberattacks that occurred in the country in past years back to the agenda. In March 2013, the websites of KCNA and Rodong Sinmun experienced access problems due to a cyberattack. In late 2014, after the hacking debates around the film The Interview, which was about the assassination of Kim Jong-un, North Korea's internet network suffered serious outages for several days.
EYES ON THE STATEMENT TO COME FROM NORTH KOREA
Unverified claims regarding Kim Jong-un's health condition and access problems on state institutions' websites caused developments in North Korea to be closely followed. No definitive statement has yet been made on the cause of the outages and when the websites will fully return to normal.