韩国调查电脑网络大瘫痪是否由于遭到网络攻击

cyberattack after several of the country's broadcasters and financial institutions reported a major failure of their computer networks.

At least three broadcasters - KBS, MBC and YTN - said their computer networks were paralyzed on Wednesday. Images of employees staring at blank computer screens circulated in South Korean media.

Two banks - the Shinhan Bank and the Nonghyup Bank - were also reported to be part of the attack, as were some of the country's ATMs. Local media suggest the country's stock markets have not been affected.

South Korean police say they are investigating the cause of the outages to determine whether they were a result of a concerted cyberattack by North Korea, which has a history of carrying out cyber warfare on the South.

The news comes just days after North Korea accused the United States and South Korea of launching a computer attack on several of its websites, which mysteriously suffered a prolonged outage last week.