No verifiable evidence found for rumors of Kim Jong Un's death
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Fact-checking organizations could not confirm reports that North Korea’s leader died, and state media images from October show him attending a garment exhibition.
Online rumors in October claimed that North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong Un had died from either a brain hemorrhage or myocarditis. The claims, which originated from a U.S.-based Chinese dissident, were accompanied by a video that actually showed a 2011 broadcast announcing the death of Kim Jong Il, not Kim Jong Un.
North Korean state media released photographs and a report stating that Kim Jong Un visited a garment and footwear exhibition on Oct. 19, accompanied by senior party and government officials. The Korean Central News Agency described the visit and the images were also published by the official newspaper Rodong Sinmun, showing Kim and his daughter inspecting displays.
Snopes was unable to verify the exact date the photos were taken, noting that signage suggested a possible 2026 capture but providing no definitive proof of the leader’s current condition. The organization also could not locate any independent confirmation of Kim’s health status or death.
"Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and President of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, went round the venue of a garment and footwear exhibition in light industry on October 19," the KCNA report read.
Snopes contacted the North Korean permanent mission to the United Nations for comment and will update the story if new information emerges. The lack of coverage by major news agencies such as Reuters or the Associated Press further underscores the absence of credible evidence supporting the death rumors.