North Korea releases photos of Kim Jong Un following death rumors

North Korean state media released images on October 20 showing Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un attending a clothing and footwear exhibition, according to the Washington Examiner and the New York Post. The images show Kim examining shoes and women's coats alongside his daughter. The Washington Examiner and NK News reported that the photos surfaced following social media rumors claiming that the 42-year-old dictator had fallen into a coma and died from a brain hemorrhage at a hospital in Beijing. [1][2][12]

Kim Jong Un has served as the supreme leader of North Korea since 2011, following the death of his father Kim Jong Il. In addition to ruling the East Asian nation from its capital of Pyongyang, he holds the positions of general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs Commission. [13][14]

Alongside the release of the images, North Korea threatened to restart propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts and deploy additional weapons along the border with South Korea, according to reports from The Washington Post, the New York Post, and Reuters. The Daily Express and Reuters noted that Kim Yo Jong, the sister of Kim Jong Un, issued a public statement announcing that loudspeaker broadcasts toward Seoul were under consideration. [3][4][5][6][9][10][11]

The threat follows a South Korean report earlier in the month blaming North Korea for September border blasts involving planted mines, as reported by PBS NewsHour. As FTMQ News reported earlier, tensions between the nations were already elevated following weapons tests, including South Korea launching a hypersonic missile and North Korea testing submarine-launched cruise missiles and an artificial intelligence powered torpedo system. [7][17][18]