By Kim Young-jin
Hackers from North Korea attacked the website of a defector-run radio station in the South that broadcasts news into the isolated country, the station says.
Free North Korea Radio said in an online report that its website was hit by a DDOS (distributed denial of service) attack Monday by hackers using a server in the North, disrupting services for four hours. Another attack occurred Tuesday, it said.
"North Korea has begun attacking defector websites that criticize the regime," the report said.
The allegation came nine days after the North’s main propaganda website, Uriminzokkiri, and its Twitter account were attacked by South Korean hackers. The attacks, later claimed by users on South Korean site dcincide.com, comprised harsh criticism against the Kim Jong-il regime.
Suspected North Korean hackers retaliated by attacking dcinside, officials here said according to reports. The North denied any involvement, calling such behavior “childish.”
In August, the North garnered international attention by creating a Twitter account that has since sent out 1,300 propaganda-related tweets.
Officials here believe Pyongyang was behind a massive DDOS attack on U.S. and South Korean websites in 2009.