# Unconfirmed reports that Kim Jong-Un may be dead **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 20, 2026, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984 "2026-10-20T00:02:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984/21 "2026-10-20T03:00:56Z")
To the contrary, if his sister takes power, she’d have to be even _more_ ruthless than a male ruler, since her gender would make her position precarious. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984/22 "2026-10-20T03:03:32Z")
That’s why I think that if there is anything going on with Kim’s health, it’s a lot more likely that he is critically ill rather than dead. If he were dead, the people who think they have a good shot at being next in line would have probably already acted (or been acted on). If he’s alive, they have to hold back to see if he gets better or dies. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984/23 "2026-10-20T03:05:47Z")
It would also depend on whether the sister intends on being Supreme Leader (which is evidently the title they use these days) in her own right, or wants to position herself as a regent or _eminence grise_ behind Kim’s young daughter. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984/24 "2026-10-20T03:37:48Z")
Kim Jong Un-dead, still. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984/25 "2026-10-20T03:50:14Z")
(golf clap) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984/26 "2026-10-20T04:12:38Z")
There have been rumors about him being dead, and being represented by a body double, for quite some time. Not sure what to think about it this time. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984/27 "2026-10-20T04:25:02Z")
It’s only relevant insofar as his death or incapacity might bring about a crisis which would lead to the collapse of the regime and its replacement by whatever comes next. If there is just an orderly transition of power to the next Glorious Socialist Monarch, it’s a nothingburger. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984/28 "2026-10-20T04:26:50Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > It’s only relevant insofar as his death or incapacity might bring about a crisis which would lead to the collapse of the regime and its replacement by whatever comes next. If there’s currently a succession crisis playing out, it would certainly explain the media going dark. (Which makes one realize how much North Korea is probably the closest thing in the world today to a medieval monarchy.) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984/29 "2026-10-20T04:40:10Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Maybe his stroke was caused by falling out of a high window. This is China, not Putin’s Russia. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984/30 "2026-10-20T12:47:34Z")
Going by the official media photos, I would say he is at the mall: [http://kcna.kp/](http://kcna.kp/) ##### [Beloved \*_Kim Jong Un_ Comrade looked around the clothing and shoe exhibition hall of the light industry sector.](http://kcna.kp/kp/article/detail/a1aa4999d4d6e3129717a015272723eb)[2026.10.20.] Headline: **[Kim Jong Un](http://kcna.kp/en/article/list/b0721b9f23054ddc7fe56c2811a12715)**[’s Revolutionary Activities](http://kcna.kp/en/article/list/b0721b9f23054ddc7fe56c2811a12715) Revolutionary shoes? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984/31 "2026-10-20T12:57:02Z")
I’m sure Donnie would buy him some Florsheim shoes in whatever size he would guess. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984/32 "2026-10-20T13:09:00Z")
I would not be at all surprised to learn they have several such visits already filmed and ready to go with the date being faked to whatever is necessary whenever they decide they need to broadcast one. Those would be useful even if he’s fully healthy. e.g. Assume he’s going to China for a secret diplomatic visit. Broadcast some anodyne footage him visiting a factory or whatever ostensibly the same date(s) he’s actually gone. Just keep the roster of other people in the vid or involved in its making small, and you can count on all them not raising any flags about the discrepancy. Meanwhile any plotters are being kept off-balance about his actual whereabouts. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984/33 "2026-10-20T13:15:10Z")
I don’t know what those pussies at the Chinese Democratic Party get up to, but in Korea we have a fine tradition of acute lead poisoning, if you know what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984/34 "2026-10-20T13:41:36Z")
> [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](#): > > This is China, not Putin’s Russia. > **[Yu Menglong](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Menglong)** > > Yu Menglong (Chinese: 于朦胧; 15 June 1988 – 11 September 2025), also known as Alan Yu, was a Chinese actor and singer. His death in September 2025 was ruled accidental by authorities, but the findings were faced with doubts and allegations that there was a cover-up. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984/35 "2026-10-20T14:06:42Z")
They meant the defenestration part, not the suspicious death part ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984/36 "2026-10-20T14:27:15Z")
Maybe he fell out of the [Ryugyong Hotel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryugyong_Hotel). ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984/37 "2026-10-20T14:36:57Z")
I think only squatters have. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984/38 "2026-10-20T14:41:13Z")
I’m aware. North Korea – including Kim Jong Un himself – [appear to prefer poison](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Kim_Jong-nam) as a method. Russia likes that method, too. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984/39 "2026-10-20T14:51:12Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > the North Korean healthcare system isn’t exactly state-of-the-art. Kim surely has access to top-level care that ordinary North Koreans don’t, whether in his own country or China. Down with the counter-revolutionary pretense that the Dear Leader is in anything but perfect health! There’s incontrovertible proof that he’s run 75 marathons in 75 days!! \*and won all of them. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984/40 "2026-10-20T15:42:57Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > They meant the defenestration part Me too: > [@](#): > > On 11 September 2025, reports circulated on Chinese social media that a man suspected to be Yu had **fallen to his death in a residential community in Chaoyang, Beijing earlier that morning.** The community’s property management later confirmed that a fatal fall had occurred. At 6:44 p.m. the same day, Yu’s studio, which had been deregistered in July 2025,[23] issued a statement confirming his death and noting that police had ruled out criminal involvement.[24][25] Authorities ruled that the death was accidental due to intoxication.[4] > > Doubts and conspiracy theories regarding Yu’s death spread online.[26] On 16 September, the studio released a second statement in the name of Yu’s mother, who was not present at the scene, stating that Yu “accidentally fell to his death after drinking.” She added, “I hope everyone will view this incident rationally and stop speculating.”[27] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unconfirmed-reports-that-kim-jong-un-may-be-dead/1033984.md?page=3)