Kim Jong Un 'died in Beijing'. South Korean intelligence says it's a lie

For days, a claim has been circulating on social media that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has died. South Korea's intelligence service, the NIS, told lawmakers at a closed session of the parliament's intelligence committee on Friday that the rumour is false. This is reported by the South Korean paper Korea JoongAng Daily, citing participants in the session.

The rumour says Kim suffered a severe brain haemorrhage, fell into a coma and died. According to the website Snopes, which checked the claim, it was started by Wanjun Xie, a Chinese dissident in the US who has previously spread unverified claims. Xie wrote that Kim was taken to a hospital in Beijing, where he allegedly died. The clip of a North Korean death announcement that he attached is old: it shows a presenter announcing the death of Kim's father, Kim Jong Il, in 2011. Some posts on X also came from a satirical account that publishes made-up stories.

Korea JoongAng Daily writes about the rumour:

"No evidence has been provided to substantiate the claims."

North Korean media have not commented on the rumours directly. On Tuesday they reported that Kim had visited an exhibition of clothing and footwear in Pyongyang the day before, and photographs show him together with his daughter. Snopes could not verify when the photographs were taken. On Saturday, the agency KCNA also reported on a two-day meeting of company commanders on 22 and 23 October, at which Kim reportedly demanded a military revolution. There is no independent verification of that either.

At the end of September, the intelligence service already told the committee that Kim weighs more than 140 kilograms and, because of severe obesity, has a high risk of heart and vascular disease, but with no noticeable signs of health problems. As evidence, it said he moves without difficulty, even ran up the stairs while inspecting a destroyer, and that special medical staff look after his health.

Rumours about the deaths of North Korean leaders are nothing new, and because the country is so closed, they are hard to refute with proof. So the situation is this: there is no evidence of Kim's death, South Korean intelligence rejects it, and there is likewise no independent confirmation that he is healthy.