North Korea releases photos of Kim Jong-un touring a clothing exhibition with his daughter after rumours he had died

US-based Chinese dissident Wanjun Xie claimed on X that the 42-year-old dictator had suffered a brain haemorrhage, slipped into a coma at a Beijing hospital and died. Xie alleged the body was secretly returned to North Korea and the death hidden. Within hours, state paper Rodong Sinmun ran images dated October 19 showing Kim at a Pyongyang shoe and clothing show with daughter Kim Ju Ae, 13. Nobody outside the regime can confirm when they were taken.

Xie heads the banned Chinese Democratic Party and has previously spread claims that Xi Jinping had died.

South Korean intelligence officials said they had heard nothing to back up the report.

Seoul's spy agency estimated in 2024 that Kim's weight stood at around 309 pounds, putting him at serious risk of developing heart disease.