Did Kim Jong Un Die From Coronavirus?
The rumors about the North Korean dictator's demise are getting intense.
YouTube As of this writing, rumors about Kim Jong Un's demise remain largely unconfirmed. While there are some media outlets reporting that the North Korean dictator has died as a result of a botched heart surgery, the official White House story remains that they are "closely monitoring" the situation.
However, there are some rumors that suggest that Kim Jong Un has not only died, but died from the coronavirus (COVID-19) currently affecting the entire world on a pandemic scale.
Did Kim Jong Un die from Coronavirus?
Let's take a look into the rumors making the rounds on social media.
During his time in office, Kim Jong Un claimed that North Korea was "Coronavirus-free."
In an official statement, Kim Jong Un claimed that North Korea had closed its borders to all foreign nationals and was monitoring more than 7,000 people with "meticulous precision." As a result of these efforts, Kim Jong Un claimed that there hadn't been a single person in the country who had been infected with COVID-19, making the nation "Coronavirus-free."
However, there are some doubts about those claims.
Despite Kim Jong Un's claims that North Korea was, somehow, the only country on Earth that managed to escape Coronavirus infection, there has been plenty of evidence to the contrary. In fact, one study estimates that as many as 4,000 North Koreans have been infected with the novel Coronavirus.
One rumor suggested that Kim Jong Un ordered the execution of a North Korean who tested positive for Coronavirus.
There was a rumor going around that suggested that Kim Jong Un ordered the execution of a North Korean citizen who tested positive for Coronavirus. However, efforts to prove — or disprove — this rumor proved unsuccessful, and the best that the media could do was say that these reports were "unproven."
In the face of growing evidence of the COVID-19 virus spread to North Korea, Kim Jong Un was seen not wearing a mask.
Despite the growing evidence that the Coronavirus had, in fact, spread to North Korea, Kim Jong Un was frequently pictured without wearing a mask. A representative for the dictator said that this was a deliberate move on his part and was meant to show that he was "above infection" and that he wasn't afraid of the virus.
Kim Jong Un also implied that there would be "serious consequences" to any positive testing for Coronavirus.
Kim Jong Un seemed to be declaring war on the world when he said that there would be "serious consequences" for anyone in North Korea who tested positive for COVID-19. Additionally, he also said that anyone who spread the virus to North Korea would be "dealt with," as well and he would take the spread of the virus as a declaration of war.
There is no way to confirm or deny if, in fact, Kim Jong Un ever tested positive for Coronavirus.
Because North Korea is a "closed country," little — if any — reliable information makes its way to the West. As a result, it's difficult, if not impossible, to confirm or deny if, in fact, Kim Jong Un ever tested positive for Coronavirus, let alone died from the complications due to the disease, especially since rumors around his death are just that at this point: rumors.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, publicist, and photographer whose work has appeared in Teen Vogue, People, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, BET.com, and more.