Rumors that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was in a coma or dead drove a sharp rise in U.S. searches Monday. Searches for “is kim jong un still alive” topped 200,000 on Google, making it the top politics trend of the day.
The claims trace largely to social media posts by Wanjun Xie, chairman of the China Democracy Party, an exile opposition group. Xie wrote on X that Kim, 42, had a severe cerebral hemorrhage. He said a team from Beijing’s Peking Union Medical College Hospital was sent to treat Kim, that Kim was later moved to Beijing, and that he died there. British tabloids, including The Sun, repeated versions of the story. Xie also claimed China had sent 9,000 troops to Pyongyang and put its Northern Theater Command on high alert.
None of those claims has been independently verified. Neither Beijing nor Pyongyang acknowledged any hospitalization, and reporting by several outlets found no hospital records or other evidence to back the posts.
Early Tuesday Korea time, Yonhap News Agency distributed photos from North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency. The news agency said they showed Kim, with his daughter Kim Ju Ae, inspecting the venue of the National Garment and Footwear Exhibition-2026 in Pyongyang on Oct. 19. South Korea’s News1, citing the ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun, reported that Kim’s wife, Ri Sol Ju, was also there. Pyongyang’s state media cannot be independently checked, but the release appears aimed at answering the rumors.
Before Monday, Kim’s last reported public appearance was Oct. 11, when state media said he toured a national defense museum in Pyongyang. Images from that visit were released Oct. 13. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told lawmakers on Sept. 30 that Kim weighed about 140 kilograms but showed no notable health problems, according to reports summarizing the briefing.
This was not the first false report of Kim’s death. In 2020, after a long absence from public view, he was widely rumored to be dead or gravely ill. Those reports faded when state media showed him opening a fertilizer factory.
North Korea analyst Benedict Rogers said the regime’s past behavior offers a guide. When a supreme leader dies, he noted, Pyongyang has staged mass public mourning, and nothing like that had been seen. He predicted the government would either announce a death or release proof that Kim was alive.
The episode has renewed attention on who would succeed Kim. His sister, Kim Yo Jong, has long held senior posts and is often named as a possible interim leader. His daughter, Kim Ju Ae, has appeared more and more often at major events. North Korea has never publicly named a successor.
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