{"id":44653,"date":"2020-04-30T16:31:43","date_gmt":"2020-04-30T07:31:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?p=44653"},"modified":"2026-04-05T15:50:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T06:50:24","slug":"n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\/","title":{"rendered":"N. Korean authorities refrain from squashing KJU death rumors"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">North Korean leader Kim Jong Un&#8217;s prolonged absence from the public has fueled rapidly spreading rumors about his death among North Koreans in the Sino-North Korean border region, Daily NK has learned.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">North Koreans are &#8220;frightened&#8221; about even hearing rumors that Kim has died so everyone pretends not to know, but \u201ceveryone knows,\u201d a North Hamgyong Province-based source told Daily NK on Apr. 29.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThere are even people who say they saw the video claiming Kim had died, but most people are trying their best to stay unnoticed because the authorities are hunting down whoever brought the video over the border,\u201d the source added.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The source appears to be referring to a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/video-claiming-kim-jong-uns-death-spreads-north-korea\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">video<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> circulating in the border region that another North Pyongan Province-based source told Daily NK about on Apr. 28. North Korean authorities have reportedly begun a manhunt to track down whoever disseminated the video inside the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>A DIFFERENT RESPONSE FROM THE PAST<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The speculation around Kim Jong Un in the region includes not just rumors of his death, but also rumors of near-death, such as the rumor that Kim is in critical condition following a surgery.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the past, any rumors about the North Korean leader or his family would have provoked a rapid response from state authorities. This time, however, North Korean authorities have made no such move to silence any rumors, provoking further suspicion about Kim\u2019s present condition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAll sorts of rumors are spreading,\u201d the North Hamgyong Province source told Daily NK. \u201cBut even though the government is aware of all this, there has been no centralized response to it, either in the form of lectures or otherwise. That\u2019s really strange.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ordinarily, the spread of such rumors would have provoked urgently-prepared lectures, with threats of severe punishment to any North Korean who dared to support the rumor mongering.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the past, state authorities actively sought to discourage North Koreans from spreading rumors with the threat of punishment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, North Koreans were ordered to remain silent in 2013, when there were scandalous rumors circulating about Kim Jong Un\u2019s wife Ri Sol Ju. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2014, similar actions were taken by the authorities when rumors made the rounds about the poor health of Kim Jong Un\u2019s aunt Kim Kyong Hui. And in 2017, when rumors spread that Kim Jong Un had killed his half-brother Kim Jong Nam, North Korean authorities again set out to squash them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>SECRET &#8220;ELATION&#8221; AMONG NORTH KOREANS<\/p>\n<p>Despite the fear surrounding the rumors among North Koreans, &#8220;t<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here\u2019s quite a few people who are secretly elated at the rumors,\u201d the North Hamgyong Province source told Daily NK.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cPeople talk about how fat Kim is among their trusted friends and wonder how he could be so overweight while his people are so thin. They crack jokes that he could explode if he gets any fatter,\u201d he explained.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSo many North Koreans are suffering from malnutrition that it\u2019s unlikely that there are many who feel overly concerned about Kim Jong Un\u2019s health,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>*Translated by Violet Kim<\/em><\/p>\n<p><i>Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/%E5%8C%97-%EA%B5%AD%EA%B2%BD%EC%A7%80%EC%97%AD%EC%84%9C-%EA%B9%80%EC%A0%95%EC%9D%80-%EC%82%AC%EB%A7%9D%EC%84%A4-%ED%8D%BC%EC%A0%B8-%EC%9E%85%EB%8B%A8%EC%86%8D-%EC%97%86%EC%96%B4\/\">Read in Korean<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>North Korean leader Kim Jong Un&#8217;s prolonged absence from the public has fueled rapidly spreading rumors about his death among North Koreans in the Sino-North Korean border region, Daily NK has learned. North Koreans are &#8220;frightened&#8221; about even hearing rumors that Kim has died so everyone pretends not to know, but \u201ceveryone knows,\u201d a North [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":171,"featured_media":40561,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[222,773],"class_list":["post-44653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-border","tag-north-hamgyong-province"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v27.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>N. Korean authorities refrain from squashing KJU death rumors - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kim Jong Un&#039;s prolonged absence from the public has fueled rumors about his death among North Koreans in the Sino-North Korean border region.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"N. Korean authorities refrain from squashing KJU death rumors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kim Jong Un&#039;s prolonged absence from the public has fueled rumors about his death among North Koreans in the Sino-North Korean border region.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-04-30T07:31:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-05T06:50:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/\uc7a5\ub9c8\ub2f9\uc744-\uc9c0\ub098\ub294-\ud0dd\uc2dc.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"906\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ha Yuna\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ha Yuna\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ha Yuna\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/116bf99c9521ec70efc4b38d538f42ff\"},\"headline\":\"N. Korean authorities refrain from squashing KJU death rumors\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-30T07:31:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-05T06:50:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":530,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/\uc7a5\ub9c8\ub2f9\uc744-\uc9c0\ub098\ub294-\ud0dd\uc2dc.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"border\",\"north hamgyong province\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\\\/\",\"name\":\"N. Korean authorities refrain from squashing KJU death rumors - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/\uc7a5\ub9c8\ub2f9\uc744-\uc9c0\ub098\ub294-\ud0dd\uc2dc.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-30T07:31:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-05T06:50:24+00:00\",\"description\":\"Kim Jong Un's prolonged absence from the public has fueled rumors about his death among North Koreans in the Sino-North Korean border region.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/\uc7a5\ub9c8\ub2f9\uc744-\uc9c0\ub098\ub294-\ud0dd\uc2dc.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/\uc7a5\ub9c8\ub2f9\uc744-\uc9c0\ub098\ub294-\ud0dd\uc2dc.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":906,\"caption\":\"In this undated photo, North Koreans can be seen selling goods on the street in the North Korea-China border region. (Kang Dong Wan, Donga University)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"N. Korean authorities refrain from squashing KJU death rumors\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/\",\"name\":\"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Daily NK English\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/top_logo@1x.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/top_logo@1x.png\",\"width\":272,\"height\":90,\"caption\":\"Daily NK English\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"description\":\"An independent online news organization based in Seoul, South Korea, reporting on internal North Korean affairs through a network of in-country sources and defector journalists. Part of the Unification Media Group (UMG) consortium.\",\"email\":\"dailynkenglish@uni-media.net\",\"telephone\":\"82-2-732-6998\",\"legalName\":\"DailyNK\",\"foundingDate\":\"2004-12-01\",\"numberOfEmployees\":{\"@type\":\"QuantitativeValue\",\"minValue\":\"1\",\"maxValue\":\"10\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/116bf99c9521ec70efc4b38d538f42ff\",\"name\":\"Ha Yuna\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/9f4cf0f24b376077a2fcdab2e85c3584-150x150.webp\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/9f4cf0f24b376077a2fcdab2e85c3584-150x150.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/9f4cf0f24b376077a2fcdab2e85c3584-150x150.webp\",\"caption\":\"Ha Yuna\"},\"description\":\"Ha Yuna is Daily NK's editor-in-chief. Please direct any questions about her articles to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/author\\\/ha-yoon-ah\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"N. Korean authorities refrain from squashing KJU death rumors - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","description":"Kim Jong Un's prolonged absence from the public has fueled rumors about his death among North Koreans in the Sino-North Korean border region.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"N. Korean authorities refrain from squashing KJU death rumors","og_description":"Kim Jong Un's prolonged absence from the public has fueled rumors about his death among North Koreans in the Sino-North Korean border region.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\/","og_site_name":"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","article_published_time":"2020-04-30T07:31:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-05T06:50:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":906,"url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/\uc7a5\ub9c8\ub2f9\uc744-\uc9c0\ub098\ub294-\ud0dd\uc2dc.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ha Yuna","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ha Yuna","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\/"},"author":{"name":"Ha Yuna","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/person\/116bf99c9521ec70efc4b38d538f42ff"},"headline":"N. Korean authorities refrain from squashing KJU death rumors","datePublished":"2020-04-30T07:31:43+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-05T06:50:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\/"},"wordCount":530,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/\uc7a5\ub9c8\ub2f9\uc744-\uc9c0\ub098\ub294-\ud0dd\uc2dc.jpg","keywords":["border","north hamgyong province"],"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\/","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\/","name":"N. Korean authorities refrain from squashing KJU death rumors - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/\uc7a5\ub9c8\ub2f9\uc744-\uc9c0\ub098\ub294-\ud0dd\uc2dc.jpg","datePublished":"2020-04-30T07:31:43+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-05T06:50:24+00:00","description":"Kim Jong Un's prolonged absence from the public has fueled rumors about his death among North Koreans in the Sino-North Korean border region.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/\uc7a5\ub9c8\ub2f9\uc744-\uc9c0\ub098\ub294-\ud0dd\uc2dc.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/\uc7a5\ub9c8\ub2f9\uc744-\uc9c0\ub098\ub294-\ud0dd\uc2dc.jpg","width":1200,"height":906,"caption":"In this undated photo, North Koreans can be seen selling goods on the street in the North Korea-China border region. (Kang Dong Wan, Donga University)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/n-korean-authorities-refrain-squashing-kju-death-rumors\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"N. Korean authorities refrain from squashing KJU death rumors"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/","name":"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#organization","name":"Daily NK English","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/top_logo@1x.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/top_logo@1x.png","width":272,"height":90,"caption":"Daily NK English"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"description":"An independent online news organization based in Seoul, South Korea, reporting on internal North Korean affairs through a network of in-country sources and defector journalists. Part of the Unification Media Group (UMG) consortium.","email":"dailynkenglish@uni-media.net","telephone":"82-2-732-6998","legalName":"DailyNK","foundingDate":"2004-12-01","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"1","maxValue":"10"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/#\/schema\/person\/116bf99c9521ec70efc4b38d538f42ff","name":"Ha Yuna","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/9f4cf0f24b376077a2fcdab2e85c3584-150x150.webp","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/9f4cf0f24b376077a2fcdab2e85c3584-150x150.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/9f4cf0f24b376077a2fcdab2e85c3584-150x150.webp","caption":"Ha Yuna"},"description":"Ha Yuna is Daily NK's editor-in-chief. Please direct any questions about her articles to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.","url":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/author\/ha-yoon-ah\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/171"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44653"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44657,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44653\/revisions\/44657"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}