Unverified claims that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has died and his sister has seized power are circulating online, fueled partly by reported outages affecting North Korean government websites.
No independently confirmed evidence supports the allegations. South Korean diplomatic and security officials told Yonhap News Agency they had received no information substantiating the death reports.
The speculation comes as North Korean state media released photographs and footage it said showed Kim visiting a garment and footwear exhibition in Pyongyang with his daughter on Oct. 19. The material was published the following day.
The date the images were taken has not been independently verified. That limitation, however, does not establish that Kim has died.
Social media user Jie Lijian claimed Kim’s body had been embalmed and placed in a crystal coffin at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the preserved bodies of his father, Kim Jong Il, and grandfather, Kim Il Sung, are displayed.
Jie also alleged that Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, had assumed control and that Chinese military personnel had entered Pyongyang to assist with a leadership transition. He further claimed that the whereabouts of Kim’s wife and daughter were unknown.
None of those allegations has been independently substantiated.
Another person circulating the rumors, Wanjun Xie, pointed to reported disruptions affecting more than 40 North Korean websites on Oct. 21 as evidence of turmoil within the government.
Xie alleged that an effort to transfer power to Kim’s daughter had been blocked and that competing leadership factions had emerged within the ruling Workers’ Party. No independent evidence supports those claims.
South Korean media reported access problems involving North Korean state websites, including the Korean Central News Agency and the party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun. The cause remained unclear, with a possible cyberattack among the explanations raised.
Website outages alone do not establish that a leader has died or that a government has changed hands.
For now, the central claims — Kim’s alleged death, his sister’s supposed takeover and Chinese involvement in a succession — remain unconfirmed.
