North Korea counters Kim Jong Un death rumors with new photos
Daughter Kim Ju Ae appears at his side while claims trace to Chinese dissident posts without evidence, Seoul intelligence puts his weight at 140 kilograms
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NK Kim Jong-Un.
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NK Kim Jong-Un 1.
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NK Kim Jong-Un 3.
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North Korean state media published photographs on Monday of Kim Jong Un inspecting children's footwear and women's coats at a garment and footwear exhibition, hours after claims circulated on social media that the leader had died. His daughter, Kim Ju Ae, appears alongside him in one of the images.
The claims originated with Wanjun Xie, a US-based Chinese dissident associated with the China Democracy Party, who wrote on X on Sunday that Kim had died. Xie's posts grew more elaborate: 9,000 Chinese troops dispatched to Pyongyang amid concerns about a succession crisis; specialists from Beijing's Peking Union Medical College Hospital travelling to North Korea on Saturday to treat a severe cerebral haemorrhage; a transfer to Beijing, where doctors were unable to save him; the body secretly returned. None of it was accompanied by medical records, photographs, identifiable witnesses or other independently verifiable evidence. The claims gained traction on social media and were picked up by several international outlets anyway.
The new photographs have not been independently authenticated, and it remains unclear exactly when they were taken. North Korean authorities have not explicitly addressed the death reports. South Korea's National Intelligence Service told lawmakers on September 30 that Kim weighs approximately 140 kilograms and faces an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease because of severe obesity, but said it had detected no significant signs of ill health — citing his ability to run up stairs during an inspection of a naval destroyer. State media last reported him attending the inauguration of the National Defense Revolution Museum on October 11.
The cycle is familiar. In 2020, defector Ji Seong-ho, who later became a South Korean lawmaker, said he was 99 per cent certain Kim had died following cardiovascular surgery. Kim subsequently appeared in public, and Ji apologised for spreading the claim.
In the new images, Kim bends forward to inspect a small pink shoe held by a young woman. His daughter stands beside him.