March 27, 2026 | 04:50 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Several posts on Instagram [archive] and Facebook claim that an Israeli missile accidentally hit the North Korean embassy in Tehran, Iran. The posts include a photo of a burned-out building.
The narrative sparked fears that North Korea, as a nuclear-armed state, would be drawn into a war between Iran, Israel, and the United States. "The North Korean embassy in Tehran was hit by a U.S.-Israeli missile attack, and we await President Kim Jong Un's reaction," read the narrative excerpt.
However, is it true that Israel accidentally bombed the North Korean ambassador's office in Iran?
FACT CHECK
Tempo verified the content using reverse image searches, artificial intelligence detection tools, and information comparisons from credible sources. The results revealed that the circulating content was fabricated using AI technology.
In fact, the South Korean Embassy, which is located close to the point of the Israeli missile explosion, was hit, not the North Korean Embassy.
Visual Verification
Was It AI identified an image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looking at the burning North Korean embassy building as a high-confidence AI product.
Tests using Hive Moderation showed a 99.9 percent probability that the image was AI-generated, generated by the Gemini model. Gemini confirmed that the photo was machine-generated using its "SynthID" watermark.
Other content depicting explosions behind waving Iranian and North Korean flags was also identified as AI-generated. The Hive Moderation tool recorded a 89.9 percent probability, and Was It AI detected it with high confidence. Technical analysis revealed a 27.8 percent probability of using the Flux model and a 13.9 percent probability of using the Flux2 model.
Several fact-checkers have declared the claim that an Israeli missile accidentally hit the North Korean embassy in Tehran to be a hoax. Snopes, for example, released a location map proving that the North Korean embassy was not near the Israeli and U.S. bombing ranges in Tehran.
Not the North Korean Embassy, But the South Korean Embassy
On March 10, 2026, instead of targeting the North Korean representative office, an explosion occurred near the South Korean embassy building in Tehran. The incident occurred amid the escalating conflict between Israel and the U.S. against Iran, which began on February 28.
According to reports from FN News and several other Korean media outlets, the photo of the explosion was officially released by the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On March 17, 2026, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun asserted that his country was not an enemy of Iran. According to Cho, the South Korean embassy was one of the few remaining foreign diplomatic offices in Tehran.
However, Cho declined to comment further on the details of the explosion near his office. Seoul has not yet discussed the restrictions on shipping access in the Strait of Hormuz with Tehran—an Iranian policy that also impacts South Korea.
According to data from the South Korean Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MOF), 26 Korean ships are currently stranded in the Strait of Hormuz. There are 183 crew members on board, including those on nine tankers carrying oil.
CONCLUSION
Tempo's investigation concluded that the claim that Israel accidentally attacked the North Korean embassy in Tehran is false.
TEMPO FACT-CHECK TEAM
**Do you have information or claims that you want to have fact-checked? Contact our ChatBot. You can also send criticism, objections, or feedback for this Fact-Checking article via email to [email protected].
Fact Check: Analyzing AI in "Prabowo for Global Peace" Song
23 jam lalu
Social media posts claim the song "Prabowo for Global Peace" was composed by international musicians to celebrate Prabowo's role in world peace.
Fact Check: Link for Rp1.5 Million Social Assistance Is Fake
2 hari lalu
Fact check - A link claiming to offer Rp1.5 million in Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos) assistance for 2026 is a phishing scam.
Fact Check: U.S. Soldiers Did Not Surrender in Fear of Iranian Retaliation
3 hari lalu
Fact check - Despite the increasing toll of U.S. military casualties in Iran war, the circulating video of American soldiers crying is AI-generated.
Fact Check: Viral Images of US Delta Force Captured by Iran Are Fake
4 hari lalu
Fact check - The images were created using AI manipulation.
Fact Check: Hotel Fire Near Masjid al-Haram Not Linked to Iran-Israel War
5 hari lalu
Tempo's fact-check team found that the cause of the fire is suspected to be a pile of trash in an empty lot near the hotel.
Fact Check: Fake Video of U.S. Aircraft Carrier Attacked by Bees
6 hari lalu
Fact check - The video depicting U.S. aircraft carrier attacked by bees was identified as AI-generated.
Fact Check: False Claim of U.S.-Israel Ground Operation in Iran
7 hari lalu
Fact check - The circulating photo is part of the U.S. military exercise in South Korea.
Fact Check: Claims of Iran Attack Videos at Israel's Main Airport Misleading
8 hari lalu
Fact check - The two videos have been identified as AI-generated content.
Fact Check: Video of Iran Nuclear Bomb in Israel is AI
9 hari lalu
Tempo's fact check team reveals the footage is AI-generated.
Fact Check: Is China Sending Military Support to Iran?
10 hari lalu
Fact check - There is no evidence of China delivering weapons to Iran so far.
