Unconfirmed reports that Kim Jong-Un may be dead

Politics & Elections
1

According to tweets by the leader of a Chinese opposition party, Kim suffered a cerebral hemmorhage, was taken to a hospital in Beijing, and passed away, and China has dispatched 9,000 troops to Pyongyang. North Korea has apparently restarted propaganda loudspeakers at the border with the south, state media has gone dark, and his sister Kim Yo-Jong has reportedly taken control of the government.

As is usually the case within the Hermit Kingdom, this is unverified and it isn’t the first time reports of Kim’s death have come out, but if true, things have a potential to get very interesting.

2

Unconfirmed report that he’s still alive:

(The preview doesn’t work well. New story about what he’s up to.)

3

That link appears to just go to the site’s homepage.

I can confirm that the Pyongyang Times’ website is offline.

4

Let’s try this version of the link

5

He’s young for a fatal stroke. Per Wikipedia:

“born 8 January c. 1982–1984”

Only a little over 40. He looks young in recent photos, too.

6

None of the links are the sort I want to click on, but I’ll keep an eye on the NY Times to see if they offer a story about it. If true, it’s seismic.

I’m not sure if it’s more trustworthy that the story is being offered by the China Democracy Party – or less so.

Time will tell.

Maybe his stroke was caused by falling out of a high window.

7

He’s also obese and drinks heavily, and the North Korean healthcare system isn’t exactly state-of-the-art.

8

Probably suffers from a little stress, too.

9

When i googled him, Google said:

“Social media rumors claim Kim Jong-un suffered a brain hemorrhage”

Above a lot of low quality news reports.

One of the headlines i saw claimed North Korea asked China to take Kim because China has better healthcare than North Korea.

10

Specifically, the story originates with this tweet from Wanjun Xie, leader of the (banned) China Democracy Party;

When his dad died, North Korean state media didn’t report it until two days later, and notwithstanding the SBS link above, his last public appearance was on October 11th. It’s possible they’re trying to get their ducks in a row before making an announcement and publicized an event that actually occurred earlier than today in order to keep suspicion down.

I’d certainly like to believe it’s true, but we’ll have to wait and see.

11

The Economic Times of India seems to be the first credible media outlet to report the rumor, although they emphasize that it’s only a rumor.

This whole thing seems to have been sparked by a speech Kim’s sister gave yesterday when she accused South Korea of escalating tensions along the border. Is that considered unusual? Reuters didn’t think it was unusual enough to mention in its story.

The Asian markets certainly aren’t reacting as if they think the leader of North Korea has suddenly died. Reuters. Bloomberg.

12

The Sun is also reporting the rumor, though I understand that calling them “credible” is a stretch.

13

What are the odds of a woman successfully running North Korea? I imagine she’s ruthless, but is that something the generals will accept? Or have any potential dissenters been purged?

14

When The Sun pours 1,000 grains of salt on a story, it doesn’t even count as clickbait.

15

Kim’s preferred heir is his daughter, who does have the slight disadvantage of being 12 years old.

Meanwhile, the Korean Central News Agency’s website is also dark.

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Is there any rain to believe his SA l sister, or whoever seized the reins, would be any better?

17

The New York Post says No.

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And as much as I hate to give the New York Post any credit at all (horrible publication, IMO), they’re probably right in this case.

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The fact that North Korean state media is still dark - both the domestic and English-language versions thereof - though, certainly suggests something is amiss. Shades of Soviet media broadcasting Swan Lake on repeat for days whenever the General Secretary died.

20

IMHO it makes it more likely that he is still alive, but in serious condition (a coma, on life support, etc.). That would probably make the internal situation in North Korea a lot more delicate than if he was dead. That being said, I’d rate the likelihood of his condition as being in his usual state of health > being critically ill > dead. Just my WAG.