Rumours of Kim Jong-un's death are believed to be false for four key reasons, beyond photographs released by North Korean state media that appear to show him in good health.
The North's state-run Korean Central News Agency released photographs apparently showing the 42-year-old leader and his daughter visiting a clothing and footwear exhibition in Pyongyang on Monday. The images show Kim examining products and speaking with officials.
Their release on Tuesday came a day after a US-based Chinese dissident claimed on social media that Kim had suffered a brain haemorrhage and died in a hospital in Beijing. No evidence was provided to support the claims, which spread rapidly on social media and across international news outlets.
No confirmation from South Korean intelligence
South Korean intelligence officials would likely have been able to verify the reports, but have received no information to support them, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported. China may also have tightened security along its border with North Korea ahead of anticipated political instability and an influx of refugees, the BBC reported. This has not been the case.
No signs of instability or embassy activity
Uncertainty within the North Korean leadership would also have led to increased activity at the country's embassies abroad - but there have been no reports of such activity. It has also been suggested that North Korean defectors in South Korea, who often obtain information through informal networks along the Chinese border, would also have learned of Kim's death. Again, this has not happened.
Border tensions continue
It comes after North Korea threatened on Monday to resume propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts and deploy more weapons along the border with South Korea. The rivals remain locked in animosities over mine blasts that injured three South Korean soldiers at the border on September 21. Earlier this month, South Korea formally blamed North Korea-planted mines for the blasts and urged the North to apologise and remove other mines.
North Korea has denied responsibility for the explosions and warned of strong retaliation if provoked. On Monday, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of Kim Jong-un, accused South Korea of firing warning shots and making warning broadcasts numerous times at the border since August under "such an unreasonable pretext" that North Korean soldiers crossed the border. She said that such provocations "have gone beyond the red line" since the mine blasts.
