Dead or Alive?

One of the most prominent and infamous political figures in today’s world is North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He is widely known to be a dictator, and has a quite ominous reputation. Un was back again in the news recently, but not for any usual political reasons. Instead, it was reported that he was “gravely ill,” leading to his “death” after undergoing cardiovascular surgery. This was a shock to people everywhere, as nobody would have thought Kim Jong Un, a powerful figure having been credited with killing several people, is now on his own death bed. This left all who heard the news wondering, is he dead or alive?

The headline that Un was seriously ill first emerged a couple weeks ago, and stated that he was not doing well after having heart surgery in months prior. Normally, reporters fact check this by investigating the claims--but North Korea is different. North Korea is largely shut off to the outside world, with no negative press regarding the country being broadcasted to its citizens. Ultimately, those who live in North Korea do not leave the country, nobody else travels into it, and those living there do not hear stories/reports regarding other countries due to their strict media laws. This leads those who were reporting on Un’s possible sickness to trust their source, which looked to be reliable. Thae Yong-ho, a North Korean ambassador to the United Kingdom, is cited as being the one to claim that Un was incredibly unwell. He went as far as to say that Un “could not even stand.” To add onto this statement, another North Korean official said that he was “99% sure Un was dead after enduring cardiovascular surgery.” With such high-profile and local officials reciting such information, many believed these reports. To put this into perspective, mostly reliable sources such as CNN, New York Times, Fox News, ABC News, NBC News, Buzzfeed News, and more, put the headline that Un was reported to be “dead” on their own news platforms. Adding more fuel to the fire, Un and his administration did not outright deny these reports, or show up in public to prove otherwise. Instead, it was radio silence from North Korea. This was unusual, as the country is normally very bold when responding to false rumors or claims against their leader. This large belief by the American (and other countries’) media was put to bed, however, after Un finally emerged last week. 

Kim Jong Un was photographed and publicly sighted opening a fertilizer plant in his home country. After three weeks of silence, Un finally showed his face. Both Yong-ho and the other official have since apologized for their “behavior,” and vowed to be more careful with their “analyses” in the future. Knowing North Korea, I am sure Un had the two make a public apology, even though they probably did not want to. Although, this month long reporting situation does bring up another question--Why would top ranking, high-profile North Korean officials lie about their claims? Everyone knows that they had nothing to claim by doing this, other than the wrath of Un and his staff. Maybe they were not lying, and Un was actually on his presumed death bed. Personally, I think nobody will ever know what truly happened over these past months in regards to Un’s health. Even if he was potentially dead, North Korea would never state that to the media, or their own citizens. It is a sketchy scenario, but not one I am surprised by given North Korea’s infamous reputation. 

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/meghara/kim-jong-un-alive-north-korea-defectors

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/04/north-korean-defectors-sorry-after-false-kim-jong-un-speculation