Unverified rumors of N.K. leader's death spread on overseas social media
State media photos showed Kim Jong Un at a Pyongyang exhibition, while online claims of a brain haemorrhage and death remained unverified.
- On Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un toured the 2026 National Garment and Footwear Exhibition accompanied by his wife Sol-ju and daughter Ju-ae, according to state media.
- Kim expressed satisfaction that products showed "rapid and substantial" development, reflecting the Party's policy aimed at eliminating regional disparities and improving living conditions nationwide.
- The exhibition displayed more than 70,700 items of clothing across over 30 types and more than 170,000 pairs of shoes in over 60 kinds, produced at factories under Kim's regional development initiative.
- State media published photos Tuesday countering unfounded claims that Kim had died or fallen into a coma in Beijing, as the rumors lacked any credible evidence.
- Unfounded health rumors spread on social media starting Sunday when anti-Chinese Communist Party profiles claimed without evidence that Kim had died or been hospitalized, reaching tabloids before official confirmation.
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Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has threatened to deploy more weapons along the border with South Korea. She spoke out amid growing speculation that the dictator suffered a brain hemorrhage, was in a coma and died, a claim Pyongyang is trying to refute by releasing photos of the leader attending a clothing and footwear exhibition.
In the pictures, the North Korean leader and his daughter are seen visiting a clothing and shoe exhibition in Pyongyang.
Who Will Lead North Korea After Kim Jong Un? His Daughter and Sister Are the Two Names to Know
Kim Jong Un was supposedly dead on Monday. By Tuesday, photographs showed him looking at clothing and shoes at an exhibition in Pyongyang. The death rumors had spread online without credible evidence. South Korean officials said they had received no information supporting them, and North Korean state media reported that Kim had attended the exhibition ...
North Korean state media on Monday released new photos of leader Kim Jong Un examining shoes and clothes, amid unconfirmed rumors circulating online that the North Korean dictator had died after falling into a coma and being rushed to China for treatment, with his sister Kim Yo Jong taking over the country.
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