Websites of N. Korean propaganda outlets inaccessible for 2nd straight day

This composite image, which compares screenshots taken from the website of North Korean propaganda outlet Uriminzokkiri on an unspecified date and Jan. 4, shows that a section on unification has been replaced. Yonhap

Websites of major North Korean propaganda media outlets targeting South Korea were inaccessible for the second straight day Friday morning for an unknown reason.

As of 10:20 a.m., there were failures in connecting to the North's main propaganda site Uriminzokkiri and other similar media outlets, such as DPRK Today and Ryomyong. The servers of those sites are mainly based in China.

The exact cause for the access failure was not immediately confirmed. Access to those websites suffered setbacks sometimes in the past.

But the latest failure could be related to North Korea's move to overhaul the websites of its propaganda outlets in line with leader Kim Jong-un's order to reform agencies in charge of inter-Korean affairs.

At a year-end party meeting, Kim defined inter-Korean ties as relations between "two states hostile to each other" and said he will not regard South Korea as a counterpart for reconciliation and unification.

North Korea recently removed sections providing information on unification and inter-Korean affairs from websites of its propaganda outlets.

Still, no problem was detected in accessing the websites using North Korean official domain names ending in ".kp," such as the Korean Central News Agency and Rodong Sinmun, the main newspaper, as well as the foreign ministry. (Yonhap)