North Korea has released a fresh batch of what is being described as “proof of life” photos of leader Kim Jong Un after wild rumours swept social media claiming the dictator had died from a brain haemorrhage.
The images, published by North Korean state media on Monday, show a seemingly animated Kim Jong Un inspecting shoes and women’s clothing at a garment and footwear exhibition.
According to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim toured the 2026 light industry exhibition on Monday. The photographs have not been independently authenticated and it remains unclear exactly when they were taken.
In one photo, Kim can be seen leaning forward to inspect a tiny pink shoe held by a woman wearing a pale pink dress. In another image, the North Korean strongman can be seen standing with his arms outstretched and his mouth open as he appears to speak with an official. A third showed him reaching toward the sleeve of a rust-coloured women’s coat displayed on a mannequin, while several aides trailed behind him.
In some of the images, his daughter Kim Ju-ae, 13, was also seen alongside him.
The photos surfaced just hours after sensational claims circulated online that the 42-year-old leader had suffered a massive brain hemorrhage, fallen into a coma and died after being rushed to Beijing for emergency treatment.
The rumours were sparked by Wanjun Xie, a US-based Chinese dissident associated with the China Democracy Party, who posted a series of explosive allegations on X on Sunday. He initially claimed that the dictator was dead and Beijing had dispatched 9,000 troops to Pyongyang amid fears of a succession crisis. He later alleged that a team of doctors from Beijing’s Peking Union Medical College Hospital had been sent to North Korea to treat Kim following a severe cerebral haemorrhage.
According to Wanjun’s account, the North Korean leader slipped into a coma before being transferred to Beijing, where doctors were unable to save him. None of the allegations was accompanied by proof, witnesses or other independently verifiable evidence.
The claims nevertheless gained traction online, raising questions about whether Kim’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, had taken control of the secretive regime.
North Korean authorities have not directly addressed the death rumours.
