Major internet outage in North Korea; could be internal, not a cyberattack, says report

North Korea's internet is experiencing a major outage on Saturday, a UK-based researcher said, adding that the cause may be internal rather than a cyberattack.

A Reuters report said that North Korea's main news web sites and its Foreign Ministry internet site were inaccessible on Saturday morning.

"A major outage is currently occurring on North Korea's internet - affecting all routes whether they come in via China or Russia," said Junade Ali, a UK-based researcher who monitors the North Korean internet.

North Korea's entire internet infrastructure is not showing up on systems that can monitor internet activities, he said.

"Hard to say if this is intentional or accidental - but seems like this is internal rather than an attack," the Reuters report quoted Ali as saying.

Officials at South Korea's Police cyber terror response centre which monitors North Korea's cyber activities could not be reached for comment, the report added.

Warship launched again after botched first attempt

A Reuters report said that North Korea launched a warship that was damaged in May upon its attempted first launch, quoting state media KCNA on Friday. After restoring the balance of the 5,000-tonne destroyer earlier in June, it was launched on Thursday and is now moored at a pier, the report added.

According to KCNA, experts will examine the hull for the next stage of restorations, to be carried out at Rajin Dockyard for 7-10 days. The ship's full restoration is expected to be completed before a ruling party meeting this month.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who had witnessed the initial failed launch of the destroyer, had excoriated the accident as caused by “carelessness” that tarnished national dignity, and he ordered the ship restored before the party meeting, the Reuters report added.

Four North Koreans crossed border with South

Seoul's military on Thursday said that a wooden boat carrying four North Koreans drifted into waters south of the de facto maritime border with the South last month.

They were discovered in the East Sea – known internationally as the Sea of Japan – in waters around 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of South Korea's Gangwon province, it said.

According to a Reuters report, the South Korean military “detected a small North Korean wooden boat in waters… east of Goseong in Gangwon province”, an official said.

The four North Koreans have been sent to a “relevant institution” after being identified by the military and the coast guard, it said.

North Koreans are typically handed over to Seoul's intelligence agency for screening when they arrive in the South.

All four North Koreans have expressed their wish to return home, according to Seoul's Yonhap news agency, which said it was believed they crossed the de facto border accidentally.