North Korea Suffers Another Internet Shutdown: Report
North Korea has suffered yet another Internet shutdown, according to Chinese state media.
On the heels of North Korea blaming the United States for its intermittent Internet interruptions this week, China’s Xinhua news agency reported Saturday that the country’s Internet and 3G mobile phone networks were down for at least two hours.
“At Pyongyang time 7:30 pm (1030 GMT) North Korea’s Internet and mobile 3G network came to a standstill, and had not returned to normal as of 9:30 pm,” Xinhua reported. The report was confirmed by cybersecurity monitoring company Dyn Research.
The country’s Internet was allegedly “very unstable” throughout the day.
National Defense Commission, North Korea’s top governing body, has blamed the shutdowns on President Barack Obama, whom they described as a reckless “monkey.” The statement from an unidentified NDC spokesman threatened “inescapable deadly blows” on the U.S. for “disturbing the Internet operation of major media of the DPRK” and screening “The Interview.”
“Obama always goes reckless in words and deeds like a monkey in a tropical forest,” the statement released to state-run Korean Central News Agency read.
Following Obama’s criticism of Sony for pulling the “The Interview,” the studio opted to release the film in 331 U.S. locations and on VOD on Christmas Day.
The statement also accused the U.S. of having a hostile policy toward North Korea before threatening unspecified consequences.
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