With a series of photos from Kim Jong-un’s visit “to the light industry sector’s clothing and footwear exhibition hall,” Pyongyang responded to rumors that the North Korean leader had suffered a severe cerebral hemorrhage and was in a coma.
In images released Monday by North Korean state media, Kim Jong Un is seen examining children’s shoes, gesturing to officials, and inspecting women’s coats.
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This followed rumors that the 42-year-old leader had suffered a severe brain hemorrhage, had fallen into a coma, and had died after being rushed to Beijing for emergency treatment.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim visited the exhibition on Monday, although the photos have not been independently verified and it remains unclear exactly when they were taken.
In one of the images, Kim bends down to examine a tiny pink shoe held by a young woman wearing a light pink dress. In another photo, the North Korean leader stands with his legs apart, his arms outstretched, and his mouth open, as he appears to be speaking emphatically with an official. A third image shows him reaching out toward the sleeve of a woman’s coat displayed on a mannequin, while several of his aides follow behind him.
NEW: Kim Jong Un on Monday "looked round the venue of the garment and footwear exhibition of the field of light industry," DPRK state media said. The photo-report came after rumors emerging on social media suggested he had died yesterday. https://t.co/rAZQMp2Uk6 https://t.co/hmjRn06KX5
— NK NEWS (@nknewsorg) October 19, 2026
The rumors were sparked by posts on X on Sunday by Chinese dissident Guan Jun Xie, who lives in the U.S. and is associated with the China Democracy Party.
Initially, Xie claimed that Kim had died and that China had sent 9,000 soldiers to Pyongyang amid fears of a succession crisis. He then claimed that a team of specialists from Peking University Hospital of Peking University Health Science Center had been sent to North Korea on Saturday to treat Kim following a severe cerebral hemorrhage.
Rumors circulate that Kim Jong-un has died, thwarting Kim Ju-ae’s succession plans and potentially plunging North Korea into civil war. The Chinese Communist Party has reportedly dispatched 9,000 troops to Pyongyang to assist Kim Ju-ae in stabilizing her regime. In preparation for a potential civil war in North Korea, the Northern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army has entered a state of high alert (Level III), and all troops within the theater command have been ordered to…Leave, family visits, and demobilization/retirement are suspended; personnel who have left the area are recalled; and strict control over personnel entry and exit is enforced!
— Wanjun Xie (@xie_wanjun) October 18, 2026
