Spy agency says social media rumours of North Korean leader's death are false

South Korean spy agency on Friday reported to a parliamentary committee that recent unverified rumours circulating on social media claiming North Korean leader Kim Jong-un might have died are false, sources said. 

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) delivered the assessment during a closed-door meeting with ruling and opposition lawmakers on the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee, according to sources who attended the meeting. The rumours, which claimed Kim had suffered a severe brain haemorrhage, fallen into a coma and died, have spread widely on overseas social media and been picked up by several foreign media outlets earlier this week. 

No evidence has been provided to substantiate the claims, Yonhap News Agency reported. North Korean state media have not directly addressed the speculation but reported Tuesday that Kim visited a garment and footwear exhibition in Pyongyang a day earlier. Photos released by the state media showed him touring the exhibition with his daughter Ju-ae. 

During the briefing to the committee late last month, the NIS said Kim, who weighs more than 140 kilogrammes, was at high risk of cardiovascular disease due to severe obesity but showed no notable signs of health problems. The agency cited his ability to move without difficulty, including running up stairs during an inspection of a destroyer and the close monitoring of his health by dedicated medical staff. 

Friday's briefing also included information on the inspection of a fortification construction site along the southern border by Kim Yo-jong, a senior official of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea and leader Kim's sister, alongside Pak Jong-chon, an adviser to the North's defence ministry, according to the participants. 

The visit came as North Korea has stepped up efforts to fortify the border with South Korea since April 2024, following leader Kim's characterisation of inter-Korean ties as relations between "two states hostile to each other." 

The leader's sister has threatened to resume propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts targeting South Korea within days and warned of a "horrible and distressing situation" amid tensions over the border fortification work. The NIS is scheduled to undergo a parliamentary audit by the committee Thursday, when lawmakers are expected to examine developments in North Korea and a range of other security issues.