Kim Jong Un appears in public with his daughter as state newspaper publishes photos amid death rumours

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been seen in public with his daughter even as rumours claimed he had died. New photographs published by the country's state media show Kim touring an exhibition of clothing and shoes with his daughter. No evidence has been found to support the claim that he died.

The photographs, published in the state newspaper Rodong Sinmun, show Kim Jong Un inspecting the exhibition with his daughter, and the newspaper's report carried detailed information about the exhibition itself.

In the published images he is seen viewing the exhibits with his daughter Kim Ju Ae and members of his regular entourage of officials. Exactly when the photographs were taken, however, could not be confirmed — the gap that keeps the rumour from being fully dispelled.

The rumour traces back to a specific source. Wangjun Shi, a US-based Chinese dissident, claimed that Kim had suffered a serious cerebral haemorrhage, fallen into a coma, and was later taken to a hospital in the Chinese capital, Beijing, for treatment.

According to Wangjun Shi, Kim subsequently died and his body was secretly returned to North Korea, and the ruling establishment concealed the news of his death. He presented no evidence, however, to support any of these claims.

Wangjun Shi describes himself as chairman of the banned Chinese Democratic Party. He had previously circulated various unverified claims about the death of Chinese President Xi Jinping as well — which put the credibility of his new claim in doubt from the start.

South Korean intelligence officials told the country's Yonhap news agency that they have no information supporting the claim of Kim Jong Un's death. Seoul's position weakens the rumour further.

Defectors in South Korea often receive information about conditions inside North Korea through informal communication networks near the Chinese border. No sign consistent with the recent rumours about Kim's health has appeared through those channels.

North Korea is one of the world's most secretive states. Because its internal situation is hard to verify independently, rumours about its leader and his physical condition surface from time to time. This death rumour recalls various baseless reports circulated in the past.

Kim's new photographs mean no evidence has emerged for the death claim. At the same time, photographs alone cannot settle questions about his health with certainty — without knowing when they were taken, caution remains the reasonable position.

Taken together — an evidence-free death claim, the state newspaper's exhibition-tour photographs, and South Korean intelligence's 'no supporting information' position — observers for now treat the rumour as baseless. Kim's next public engagements will provide the clearest answer.