Seoul dismisses unverified claims as Pyongyang releases new photos of its leader, reviving memories of false alarms and speculation over the ruling dynasty's health
Rumors that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un died after suffering a brain hemorrhage have swept through social media and news outlets overseas in recent days, prompting South Korean officials to dismiss the claims as unsubstantiated, while Pyongyang released fresh photographs of its leader attending a public event.
The latest round of speculation, which originated from an unverified social media post by US-based Chinese dissident Wanjun Xie, is the latest in a decades-long pattern of death rumors surrounding North Korea's ruling dynasty — fueled by the secretive regime's tight grip on information and recurring questions over the health of its leaders.
British tabloid The Sun, the New York Post and India's Economic Times picked up the speculation this week, reporting unverified allegations circulating online that Kim had been hospitalized in Beijing after suffering a serious brain hemorrhage and losing consciousness.
In posts on X, Xie claimed that specialists from Peking Union Medical College Hospital had been dispatched to North Korea to treat Kim before he was transferred to Beijing, where he purportedly died.
He also claimed, without evidence, that China had dispatched thousands of troops to Pyongyang to help stabilize a potential leadership transition involving Kim's daughter, Kim Ju-ae, and prepare for possible internal unrest.
Xie, who has previously circulated unverified claims about Chinese President Xi Jinping's health and alleged use of a body double, provided no medical records, eyewitness testimony or other independently verifiable evidence to support his account.
Xie claims to lead the Chinese Democratic Party, a political group outlawed by Chinese authorities.
The rumors further gained traction across international media, with some reports speculating that Kim Yo-jong, Kim's younger sister and director of the Workers' Party's General Affairs Department, could temporarily assume control before eventually transferring power to Kim Ju-ae.
South Korean diplomatic and security officials said they had received no information substantiating the claims, while a Unification Ministry official, declining to be named, similarly characterized the reports as "unverified rumors."
North Korea, meanwhile, appeared to offer a rebuttal of its own — without directly acknowledging the speculation.
The Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday that Kim had visited an exhibition of clothing and footwear products in Pyongyang the previous day, releasing photographs showing him touring the venue alongside his wife, Ri Sol-ju, and daughter Ju-ae.
In one of the images, Kim was seen bending down to examine a pair of pink children's shoes that Ju-ae was holding.
The photographs appeared at odds with claims that Kim was comatose or dead, although their precise timing could not be independently verified.
A familiar cycle of speculation
The latest rumors bear striking similarities to previous episodes in which North Korea's tightly controlled information environment allowed speculation about its leaders' health to spiral into claims of death or political upheaval.
One of the most prominent episodes came in April 2020, when Kim disappeared from public view and skipped an annual visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun to mark the Day of the Sun, the birth anniversary of his grandfather and North Korea's founder, Kim Il-sung.
His absence sparked reports that he had undergone cardiovascular surgery and was either critically ill or dead.
The speculation soon spilled into South Korean politics, with some politicians making unusually definitive assessments despite the lack of independently verified information.
Thae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat who had just been elected to South Korea's National Assembly on the then-main opposition United Future Party ticket, repeatedly suggested throughout April 2020 that Kim was physically incapacitated and unable to stand or walk normally.
Around that time, Ji Seong-ho, another North Korean defector and lawmaker-elect from the opposition Future Korea Party, went further, claiming on May 1, 2020, that he was 99 percent certain Kim had died.
In an interview with local media outlet Chosun Ilbo, Ji said he had learned from sources inside North Korea that Kim had died the previous weekend, apparently after going into shock following cardiovascular surgery. Ji acknowledged a slim possibility that Kim was still alive, saying he could not declare his death with absolute certainty.
Both Thae and Ji subsequently faced sharp criticism after North Korean state media released photographs and video footage on May 2 showing Kim attending the opening ceremony of the Sunchon Phosphatic Fertilizer Factory the previous day, walking and appearing in public for the first time in nearly three weeks, effectively debunking their claims about his health and possible death.
However, it was hardly the first false alarm surrounding the health and fate of North Korea's ruling dynasty.
In November 1986, reports circulated that Kim Il-sung had been assassinated, with some accounts claiming that flags had been flown at half-staff in North Korean areas near the inter-Korean border. The rumors were discredited when the North Korean founder appeared in public soon afterward.
In September 2008, the absence of Kim Jong-un's father, Kim Jong-il, from celebrations marking North Korea's 60th founding anniversary triggered speculation about his health and possible death.
Unlike many previous episodes, concerns about Kim Jong-il's condition had some basis in reality, as he was widely believed to have suffered a stroke. But reports suggesting his death proved premature, and he remained in power for more than three years.
Kim Jong-un himself disappeared from public view for approximately 40 days in September and October 2014, prompting speculation about serious illness and even a possible leadership crisis. He eventually reappeared using a walking stick, with his absence widely attributed to leg or joint problems.
Another round of rumors emerged in May 2025, when unverified claims circulated in diplomatic and financial circles that Kim Jong-un had lost consciousness during an inspection visit to Wonsan. Those reports also proved unfounded.
The recurring episodes stand in sharp contrast to the circumstances surrounding the actual deaths of North Korea's previous leaders.
When Kim Il-sung died in July 1994, Pyongyang waited more than a day before announcing his death. The death of Kim Jong-il in December 2011 was similarly concealed for nearly two days before state media made an official announcement.
In both cases, the outside world remained largely in the dark until North Korean authorities chose to disclose the news.
Why rumors refuse to die
The persistence of such rumors reflects a fundamental problem for governments and analysts seeking to understand developments inside North Korea: Reliable information about the country's supreme leader remains exceptionally scarce.
Pyongyang exercises near-total control over information concerning its leadership, including medical conditions, public schedules and succession arrangements. Unlike leaders in more open political systems, Kim Jong-un is not subject to routine public medical disclosures or independent scrutiny.
That secrecy has been compounded by long-standing concerns about his health.
South Korea's National Intelligence Service assessed on Sept. 30 that Kim Jong-un showed no apparent signs of serious health problems despite weighing more than 140 kilograms and being at high risk of cardiovascular disease.
During a closed-door briefing to the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee, the spy agency reported that Kim had demonstrated relatively good mobility, including running up stairs during an inspection of a naval destroyer, and remained under close supervision by a dedicated medical team.
The assessment was disclosed by Reps. Yoon Kun-young of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Yoo Yeong-ha of the opposition People Power Party, who serve as their respective parties' representatives on the committee.
According to the NIS, Kim had made 121 public appearances so far this year, up 30 percent from the same period last year.
The contrast highlights the difficulty of separating legitimate questions about Kim's health from sensational claims about his imminent demise.
For now, the photographs released by Pyongyang and the absence of corroborating intelligence have left the latest death rumors without a credible foundation.
The broader pattern, however, is unlikely to disappear. As long as North Korea maintains its extraordinary secrecy over the health and whereabouts of its supreme leader, the information vacuum surrounding the ruling dynasty will remain fertile ground for speculation, observers say.
mkjung@heraldcorp.com
