N Korean leader Kim Jong Un appears in public for 1st time in 20 days

hmm...not sure who to believe

No doubt to the joy of his fan base on this website.

No doubt to the joy of his fan base on this website.

I’ve never once seen anyone cheer Kim on these threads.

many MSM channels were reporting him dead. So much for that.

Naturally they would never use a body double, so I guess we can take it at face value.

So they (NK) said but no photo's published.

True, but seems something would of leaked from China or SK by now. If he is dead and they are claiming him alive....bizarre.

zichi, photos available here: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52508437

many MSM channels were reporting him dead. So much for that

Incorrect. The media was reporting rumors of his death.

Among North Korea refugees who have good sources, it has been accepted knowledge for several days now that he was "quarantining." The death rumor only provided a day or two of wishful thinking.

No doubt to the joy of his fan base on this website

Yeah, Old Man, because posters are constantly extolling Kim's virtues and calling him kind nicknames here...

commanteer:

Among North Korea refugees who have good sources, it has been accepted knowledge for several days now that he was "quarantining."

I don´t know what "good sources" is supposed to mean in a secretive controlled society like NK. I do not believe the "quarantining" thing, because that would not explain the absence of photos and TV apparancences. He could do that from his quarantine bunker.

I assume the latest photos are true, but I keep also in mind that the photos could be dated, and if he was dead, NK would deny his death until the successor situation had been resolved.

So for now we are all speculating.

Gordon Chang believes it’s too early to tell by these photos. He said, there’s a slight possibility that these photos were from the previous years, so they need to analyze them first. It’s still too early to predict.

TheLongTermer:

many MSM channels were reporting him dead. So much for that.

The same MSM channels that were reporting that Trump suggested injecting toilet desinfectant, right? Take those sources for what they are worth.

many MSM channels were reporting him dead.

I didn't see a single 'channel' reporting him as dead. What news were you reading? Maybe you should stay away from the conspiracy theories.

Getting fatter.

President Trump has indicated that he knew Kim's condition several days ago, but, he would not comment on it. It will be interesting to see and hear if both stories match. The next step is to watch who disappears from the photo ops in NK.

There you go! Journalism has rendered to sensationalism. I was skeptical when reading many speculations about the absence of Kim on his grand father's birthday:

"With respect to his absence from an important event.. I have seen how media around the world have frantically speculated many things about the absences of XiJinping in September 2012 and recently of the leader of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong in April 2019. In the end, both of them reappeared in good shapes and run their businesses as usual." (Hung Nguyen, comments in the article titled "Seoul plays down report over N Korean leader's health," on April 21, 2020)

In the end, it was Kim who got the last laugh.

I don´t know what "good sources" is supposed to mean in a secretive controlled society like NK.

Refugees have a network of family and friends, and there is always cross border trade between NK and China as well as the rumors within NK. That provides a grapevine that is somewhat more reliable than what the media seem to speculate on.

Of course, it's not foolproof. But the absence of media appearances does not mean he s dead, either. It's pretty much up to Fatboy if he makes appearances or not.

He eats so much, he could have supplied compost for the fertilizer plant single handedly.

Kim,

Call home. I'm worried about you.

Donald

The same MSM channels that were reporting that Trump suggested injecting toilet desinfectant, right?

Which was none of them.

On another thread I posted, "Kim is well and alive (as South Korean Presidential adviser Moon Chungin-in assered), probably spending his time there (in Wonsan) to avoid the outbreak of the new coronavirus"

This episode shows how authentic news outlets may make a grave error and even tinker with facts..

There's one point that must be clarified, though. Why did Kim disappear from the public eye, missing his late grandfather's birthday ceremony which he had never failed to miss since he took power.. He also missed an important meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.

Were these events not so important compared with the leisure he spent at an elite compound in Wonsan?

Katy Tur NBC news:

In the post, which went viral on social media, Tur claimed, “North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is brain dead, according to two US officials. He recently had cardiac surgery and slipped into a coma, according to one US current and one former US official. @NBCNews confirms and adds to CNN scoop.”

I am sure one of the deniers will try to say that confirms means something else and she said brain dead, which isnt really "dead dead" or some other nonsense.

This episode shows how authentic news outlets may make a grave error and even tinker with facts.

Can you point to a specific example in relation to this case of both a 'grave error' and of 'tinkering with facts'?

Here is how the BBC covered it for example:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-52364055

Reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is seriously ill after heart surgery are not true, officials in South Korea have said.

Headlines that Kim Jong-un was "gravely ill", "brain-dead" or "recovering from an operation" were always going to be impossible to verify.

A tweet is not an appropriate source for news. Also, let’s tell the bride story instead of cherry picking the parts we like:

Tur, however, went on to remove the post, explaining in an update, “I’ve deleted that last tweet out of an abundance of caution. Waiting on more info. Apologies.”

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mediaite.com/tv/msnbcs-katy-tur-deletes-tweet-apologizes-after-reporting-kim-jong-un-is-brain-dead/amp/

He looks like the Pillsbury Doughboy.

He's getting bigger in every photo I see of him.

Maybe U.S and Sth Korean agents are slowly poisoning him with cholesterol.

Ah_so,

Isn't it a grave mistake if you report a hearsay as if it were a fact? Readers won't take it as a hearsay or a rumor but nothing but a fact.

I almost believed the story that Kim Jong Un was in a critical condition after he had undergone a cardiovascular operation because, as the above article says, he is obese, a heavy smoker and drinker and also because of his family history.

A tweet from a TV news reporter whose identity has been verified by Twitter most definitely is news. Without any doubt. This isnt just a random person.

You dont just say the leader of an enemy nation is dead, confirm it, claim 2 sources, then take it back hours later as an oops my bad. Just another example of anonymous White House sources that are fake.

With all that’s going on currently, fat boy is no ones priority.

A tweet from a TV news reporter whose identity has been verified by Twitter most definitely is news. Without any doubt. This isnt just a random person. 

No. I’m glad that you’ve figured out what “random person” means.

You dont just say the leader of an enemy nation is dead, confirm it, claim 2 sources, then take it back hours later as an oops my bad. Just another example of anonymous White House sources that are fake.

You really want to start flinging the lying accusations? Remember, you strongly support a serial liar who isn’t a reporter, but is the president.

There goes CNN,s credibility , whats left of it , after reporting Kim was in critical condition following botched surgery.

You’d have a pint of that is what CNN had reported:

The US is monitoring intelligence that suggests North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, is in grave danger after undergoing a previous surgery, according to a US official with direct knowledge.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/04/20/politics/kim-jong-un-north-korea/index.html

Commanteer:

Refugees have a network of family and friends, and there is always cross border trade between NK and China as well as the rumors within NK. That provides a grapevine that is somewhat more reliable than what the media seem to speculate on.

Yes. But that is a pretty low standard.

I am sure the refugees have lots of knowledge, but I don´t think that includes details about the what is going on among the top leadership of that society.

marcelito:

There goes CNN,s credibility , whats left of it

There was any left??

One thing that is overlooked is that there have been numerous cases where refugees will exaggerate in order to generate income, as so many are eager for the 'inside story'-

[ In January, the DPRK government released a video claiming to show Shin’s father denouncing his son’s stories as fake. When questioned, Shin confessed that parts of his account were also inaccurate, including sections on his time in Camp 14, the infamous labour camp for political prisoners, and the age at which he was tortured.

Shin is not alone. Another North Korean, Lee Soon-ok, offered testimony to the US House of Representatives in 2004, describing torture and the killing of Christians in hot iron liquid in a North Korean political prison.

But Lee’s testimony was challenged by Chang In-suk, then head of the North Korean Defectors’ Association in Seoul, who claimed to know first hand that Lee had never been a political prisoner. Many former DPRK citizens on the website NKnet agreed Lee’s accounts were unlikely to be true.

Similarly, Kwon Hyuk told the US Congress that he was an intelligence officer at the DPRK embassy in Beijing and had witnessed human experiments in political prisons – a critical factor in the US decision to pass the North Korea Human Rights Act in 2004.

Kwon’s account, retold in a BBC documentary back in 2004, was later questioned by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, which argued that he never had access to such information. Many years later, Kwon has since disappeared from the public eye. ]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/13/why-do-north-korean-defector-testimonies-so-often-fall-apart

moonbloom:

One thing that is overlooked is that there have been numerous cases where refugees will exaggerate in order to generate income, as so many are eager for the 'inside story'-

Probably true.

However....

https://www.theguardian.com....

The Guardian? Seriously? How low can we go.

Dirty Dodgy Dictator's Dubious Double. That's not Kim!

Fat boy has been hiding from the virus, only they can’t tell anyone that, after all he is god like and infallible.

It could be the FAKE Kim!!

many MSM channels were reporting him dead.

You dont just say the leader of an enemy nation is dead, confirm it, claim 2 sources, then take it back hours later as an oops my bad.

There goes CNN,s credibility , whats left of it , after reporting Kim was in critical condition following botched surgery.

Kim Jong Un in 'vegetative state': https://www.foxnews.com/world/kim-jong-un-vegetative-state-china-experts-north-korea

North Korean defector-turned-lawmaker '99 percent' sure Kim Jong Un is dead: https://www.foxnews.com/world/kim-jong-un-99-percent-dead-lawmaker-says

There's your MSM.

zichi:

Video on BB World News showing Little Fatboy alive and smoking. Op was maybe for gout.

Did the BBworld news video give show any indication that the Little Fatboy video was recent? Like him talking about current events? Otherwise, take it for what it is worth.

Again, IF LFB was dead, there would be a power struggle going on right now, and no way in the world they would announce his death until the succession was decided. Not rocket science.

But others question whether core members of North Korea’s elite, mostly men in their 60s or 70s, would find it hard to accept a young and untested female leader who lacks military credentials. Some predict a collective leadership or violent power struggles.

OK, I’m getting just a little bit sick and tired of this whole, “they won’t except a woman in male dominated North Korea” argument.

The main reason is this. The cult of personality surrounding the Kim family? Yeah, and read that again, the Kim family. And since their leaders are considered gods to North Koreans, I don’t see how that would really change just because one of their women is in charge.

Also, even though that their official ideology now is Juche, (Self reliance) It was originally Marxist-Leninist Communism. And even now, their country mostly operates like a communist state, just with that Juche thrown in.

And as we all know, in economy society everyone is equal, men and women as well. And this is not to slight the concept of equality between the sexes, because I support it. But because communism extremely emphasizes that aspect as well, ideologically speaking, I don’t know how those opposed in North Korea to a woman ruling, could justify their arguments.

JCosplay:

The main reason is this. The cult of personality surrounding the Kim family? Yeah, and read that again, the Kim family.

Err, no. The 3 generations of Kim rulers, grandfather, father, and son. The females in the family are pretty much hidden, have you ever seen the wife of Kim Il Sung or Kim Yong Il? Or any females on any statues, buttons, or posters?

Maybe the sister would take over, but it would not be an easy transition.

guess time will tell what the truth is if at all, fake news, body double? So far it all points out towards body double and workings of a soon to be released made up story.

And in terms of that photo you guys were talking about. If you are referring to the one in the article, that was a photo of a woman walking past a TV, which I would assume was showing video footage of Kim Jong-un and his sister. Now I don’t mean to sound rude, so if it comes across as being so, I apologize. Just wanted to point that out.

*Kim Jong Un in 'vegetative state': https://www.foxnews.com/world/kim-jong-un-vegetative-state-china-experts-north-korea*

*North Korean defector-turned-lawmaker '99 percent' sure Kim Jong Un is dead: https://www.foxnews.com/world/kim-jong-un-99-percent-dead-lawmaker-says*

*There's your MSM.*

Faux “News” has the highest ratings of any news broadcaster, which means it is, by definition, the most mainstream of medias.

The breaking news update I saw on CNN the day news broke didnt mention anything about US monitoring intelligence of that.....it simply ran the unqualified headline - KJU life reportedly in grave danger after critical surgery

Wjy would you watch CNN if you think it lacks credibility? I know Faux “News” is utter trash, so I don’t bother watching it.

N Korean leader Kim Jong Un appears in public for 1st time in 20 days

Meanwhile, Kim Jong Un not Il?

It looks like ol' Kimmy has been busy making the usual suspects in the main stream media look like the rank amateurs they are. Why bother to actually verify their stories when they can sell just as much advertising, or more, by jumping to conclusions, or resorting to cheap-and-easy, cut-and-paste, un-proven ramblings.

he main stream media look like the rank amateurs 

That's one way to look at it. Another is media outlets in a free, for-profit press tend to and probably have always wanted to push stories for their markets, often before fact checking. That some individuals believe what is reported without verifying is on the individual. Can you believe that some would actually trust accounts from these sources below.

https://www.breitbart.com/news/mystery-of-north-koreas-kim-jong-un-deepens-with-new-rumors-of-death/

https://www.fox46.com/news/media-reports-say-north-korean-dictator-kim-jong-un-dead/

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/486935-kim-death-korea-chaos/

I'm glad I can access a huge number of media sources, unlike people who live in North Korea, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Russia. (I know, in Russia there can be some outlets other than those sponsored by the state.)

Oｃcourse, where there's smoke, there's fire.

Chip Star:

Wjy would you watch CNN if you think it lacks credibility? I know Faux “News” is utter trash, so I don’t bother watching it.

But if you do not watch it, how do you know that it is utter trash?

Interesting demonstration of how the "information silos" aka echo chambers work.

PTownsend - That's one way to look at it. Another is media outlets in a free, for-profit press tend to and probably have always wanted to push stories for their markets, often before fact checking.

"Often before fact checking" is the problem. I was glued to CNN coverage way back in 2001. That's when the public still considered them to be "the most trusted name in news". Today, I consider them to be just another collection of political hacks. CNN, and the others, have destroyed their own reputations.

Kim Jong Un, and the North’s official Korean Central News Agency, have been playing the main stream media like a cheap violin. Again.

That's when the public still considered them to be "the most trusted name in news".

You think CNN’s slogan was based in reality?! That’s like believing Faux “News” was objective beside it’s slogan was “Fair and Balanced.”

But if you do not watch it, how do you know that it is utter trash?

Be side what it spews is reported on other media.

Interesting demonstration of how the "information silos" aka echo chambers work.

Great example of a failure of logic.

Kim Jong Un, and the North’s official Korean Central News Agency, have been playing the main stream media like a cheap violin. Again.

Played Fox “news” like a gamer with an xbox in pandemic isolation.

Kim Jong Un in 'vegetative state': https://www.foxnews.com/world/kim-jong-un-vegetative-state-china-experts-north-korea

North Korean defector-turned-lawmaker '99 percent' sure Kim Jong Un is dead: https://www.foxnews.com/world/kim-jong-un-99-percent-dead-lawmaker-says

Kim Jong Un, and the North’s official Korean Central News Agency, have been playing the main stream media like a cheap violin. Again.

You do realize that Faux “News” is the most mainstream of all medias, correct? It has the highest rating of any news outlet, which means it’s the most mainstream.

Chip Star:

You do realize that Faux “News” is the most mainstream of all medias, correct?

As you proudly declared, you never watch that channel, so what is your problem?

(Interestingly, never watching it does not stop you from having strong opinions about it.)

zichi:

It could be Kim Jong Un went into hiding to test those nearest to him and how that would react to news of his death. That sounds like him to a tee.

It is possible. We can all speculate til the cows come home. Afaic, occams razor says he had a health issue that prevented him from attending the April 15th ceremony. It is the simplest explanation.

Afaic, occams razor says he had a health issue that prevented him from attending the April 15th ceremony. It is the simplest explanation.

The problem with that simple explanation is that there are other simple explanations - he just didn't feel like going out. He had a girl he was preoccupied with. He was getting drunk or doing drugs. He had a headache.

Yours isn't the simplest explanation, it's just an explanation. A such,

We can all speculate til the cows come home.