New rumors are circulating claiming that Kim Jong Un has died – including a top Hong Kong journalist.
Vice director of HKSTV Hong Kong Satellite Television Shijian Xingzou says that a ‘very solid source’ has told her Kim Jonh Un has died.
Separately, one Japanese media outlet claims that the North Korean dictator is in a ‘vegetative state’ after he underwent heart surgery.
China has dispatched a team to North Korea including medical experts to advise on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, according to three people familiar with the situation.
The trip by the Chinese doctors and officials comes amid conflicting reports about the health of the North Korean leader, with western outlets unable to immediately determine what the trip by the Chinese team signaled in terms of Kim’s health.
A report by the weekly Shukan Gendai in Japan claimed on Friday that North Korea’s dictator us currently in a ‘vegetative state’ after having heart surgery earlier in the month.
The outlet cited a Chinese medic who is believed to have been sent as part of the team to treat Kim Jong Un after a delay in a simple heart procedure had left the leader severely ill.
The source cited by the news outlet claimed that Jong Un was visiting the countryside when he clutched his chest and fell to the ground. A doctor with him at the time is said to have performed CPR on accompanied him to a hospital.
While there is no official proof of the dictator’s death, the hashtag #KimJongUndead was trending on Twitter on Friday following the report.
A delegation led by a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party’s International Liaison Department left Beijing for North Korea on Thursday, two of the people said. The department is the main Chinese body dealing with neighbouring North Korea.
The sources declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter.