N. KOREA DICTATOR KIM JONG-UN REPORTEDLY DEAD ... After Botched Heart Surgery

[Polybius]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Omaha Steve (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: TMZ

North Korea's Supreme Leader/dictator Kim Jong-un has reportedly died, or is on his death bed with no hope for recuperation -- according to media outlets in China and Japan.

Amid reports China has sent a medical team to their communist neighbors this week to check in/advise on Kim, a Hong Kong-backed news channel's vice director -- who's apparently the niece of a Chinese foreign minister -- blasted out the news herself ... he's dead. TMZ has not confirmed that.

The woman put the report on a social media app called Weibo for her nearly 15 million followers to read, citing a "very solid source" about the claim Kim had, in fact, perished. A Japanese magazine reports he's in a "vegetative state" after a heart surgery gone wrong.

The outlet reports -- citing a Chinese medical expert privy to the situation -- that Kim had clutched his chest in early April and fell down while visiting the countryside there. He needed a stent procedure done, but apparently ... it either wasn't done rapidly enough, or it was botched completely by the surgeon -- with some reports saying he had shaky hands.

Read more: https://www.tmz.com/2020/04/25/north-korea-dictator-kim-jong-un-dead-dies-heart-surgery-reports/

---

I know it’s TMZ, but they were the first to report Kobe’s death in January. This is huge.

[louis-t]

1. I read it as "Kim Jong Reportedly Un-Dead."

[IronLionZion]

9. Anything is possible these days, even Zombies

[lamp_shade]

22. ... or "mostly dead"

[leftieNanner]

35. But not "ALL dead."

You have to say it in Billy Crystal's voice.

[BunnyMcGee]

59. Just a scosh away from the big D

[christx30]

62. Time to go through his pockets and look for loose change. n/t

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

24. SNL's original "Weekend Update" verfies the news reports:

[CaptYossarian]

27. When he finds out he's dead, the news might actually kill him.

[LiberalArkie]

2. I would have shaky hands also.

[greenjar_01]

3. I mean, usually I'd be all "It's TMZ," but they were the first on Kobe Bryant

[unblock]

7. they're first because they're reckless and don't wait for confirmation.

so, yeah. they can be first when the rumor is right. but then again, they're also first when the rumor is wrong.

[Kacy]

12. The coxcomb bird, so talkative and grave,

That from his cage cries 'Cuckold,' 'Whore,' and 'Knave,’
Though many a passenger he rightly call,
You hold him no philosopher at all.
…Alexander Pope on TMZ

[unblock]

13. pope rivals nostradamus, there!

[unblock]

4. tmz is notorious for jumping the gun, particularly on death announcements.

they've reported a lot of living people dead before.

sometimes they're right, but take with a large grain of salt.

i'll believe it when i see it in sources that don't cite tmz.

[Coventina]

6. Agreed. n/t

[sfstaxprep]

34. Their Track Record Is Pretty Good Though

They may be TMZ, but they wouldn't normally put a story this big on their main page, if they weren't confident in it's general accuracy.

And there's Wayyyyy too much smoke on this since last weekend.

He's Dead, or the closest thing there is to it.

[BigmanPigman]

50. Last night Newsweek and Reuters reported it too...

Exclusive: China sent team including medical experts to advise on North Korea’s Kim, sources say".

"The trip by the Chinese doctors and officials comes amid conflicting reports about the health of the North Korean leader. Reuters was unable to immediately determine what the trip by the Chinese team signaled in terms of Kim’s health.

A delegation led by a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party’s International Liaison Department left Beijing for North Korea on Thursday, two of the people said. The department is the main Chinese body dealing with neighbouring North Korea."

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-politics-exclusive-idUSKCN2263DW

And Newsweek...
https://www.newsweek.com/china-sends-doctors-north-korea-tv-report-fuels-speculation-kim-jong-un-dead-1500181

[unblock]

51. Note the other sources aren't saying he's dead

They're reporting what's confirmed, which is now a set of facts that's consistent with him having died, but could also be consistent with a coma or other medically adverse outcome, or possibly just something temporary.

TMZ may yet prove right, but it's still just a (possibly reasonable) guess.

[BigmanPigman]

55. Who was it that said,

"Rumors of my death have been exaggerated"? I hope these rumors are true though.

[unblock]

56. "The report of my death was an exaggeration"

Mark Twain

http://www.thisdayinquotes.com/2010/06/reports-of-my-death-are-greatly.html?m=1

[BigmanPigman]

57. That's it! Thanks.

[Skittles]

5. I bet there was nothing wrong with the surgeon

they're just trying to shift the blame

[Polybius]

11. The surgeon and entire NK medical team are probably all dead

Probably were killed before Kim passed.

[pandr32]

15. I thought the same

Scapegoats

[chia]

19. First thought I had when I read it

[Skittles]

43. if his hands were shaking

no doubt it was because of the terror in case something went wrong

[Ford_Prefect]

8. Hopeful Hype yes. News, I think not. 2nd graph ends with "TMZ HAS NOT CONFIRMED".

Hardly LBN. Most of the same rumors ran in the last 5-7 days.

*******************************
[link:https://asiatimes.com/2020/04/reports-kim-jong-un-gravely-ill-after-surgery/|

From: Asia Times 4/21/2020

Kim Jong Un reported ‘gravely ill’ after surgery
'Cardiovascular surgery performed April 12' on the obese scion of a ruling clan with bad health genes.

by Bradley K. Martin and Andrew Salmon April 21, 2020

The United States has seen intelligence indicating that North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un “is in grave danger after a surgery,” according to CNN. The network quotes “a US official with direct knowledge.”

There has been no official confirmation of that prognosis. Bloomberg News in its follow-up quoted unnamed US officials as saying the White House had been told Kim took a turn for the worse after surgery last week and his condition had become critical. But the Bloomberg report emphasized that the US administration was not certain about the current condition of Kim.

Both the CNN and Bloomberg dispatches followed a report by Daily NK, a Seoul-based news service partially staffed by defectors and with contacts inside North Korea, quoting one such source as saying Kim underwent “urgent” cardiovascular surgery April 12 at a hospital near one of his many villas.

“Excessive smoking, obesity, and fatigue were the direct causes of Kim’s urgent cardiovascular treatment,” Daily NK cited the unidentified source as saying.
ATF

He was “recuperating” with doctors in attendance at his Hyangsan villa, in the Mount Myohyang area north of Pyongyang, Daily NK added.

The source “suggested” that the surgery took place at Hyangsan Hospital, which Daily NK said is reserved for members of the Kim family.

[Scarsdale]

40. Strange that his

bosom buddy tRump has not been notified. He will be brokenhearted.

[xxqqqzme]

58. He probably suggested

they use liquid plumber to clear Kim's arteries.

[BunnyMcGee]

60. Eddie Murphy laugh

[link:

|

[PlanetBev]

10. TMZ was the first to report Michael Jackson's death

You can pretty much take that to the bank.

[SkatmanRoth]

14. Oh NO! Trump's only friend (other than Putin) is dead.

Trump will have to call his now best friend Putin and have a good cry over the news.

[CaptYossarian]

28. Bolsonaro can now enter the Axis of Evil.

Move him from AAA ball to the Majors.

[TNNurse]

16. Has anyone contacted Dennis Rodman? He should know.

[world wide wally]

17. Ooops

[ancianita]

18. TMZ is almost never wrong.

[OnlinePoker]

30. This is from 2013

10 times TMZ got things wrong (not necessarily deaths):

https://www.elitedaily.com/entertainment/10-biggest-tmz-false-reports

[Jim__]

20. I don't think he has any obvious successor.

I know he has a sister, I don't know enough about Korean culture to know whether or not she is a potential successor.

I believe the South Korean leader was interested in having a better relationship with North Korea. I hope this leads to some more stability in that part of the world, but I'm not counting on it.

[elleng]

21. North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un rumored to be dead. NYPost

'Kim Jong Un is rumored to be dead, according to a Hong Kong broadcast network, while a Japanese magazine is reporting that North Korea’s rocket man is in a “vegetative state” after he underwent heart surgery earlier this month.

A vice director of HKSTV Hong Kong Satellite Television, a Beijing-backed broadcast network in Hong Kong, claimed that Kim was dead, citing a “very solid source.” Her post on the Chinese messaging app Weibo has been shared widely on social media, according to a report in the International Business Times.

Other unconfirmed reports, attributed to senior party sources in Beijing, said an operation to insert a stent went wrong because the surgeon’s hands were shaking so badly.'


https://nypost.com/2020/04/25/north-korean-dictator-kim-jong-un-rumored-to-be-dead/?

[sfstaxprep]

39. They're Repeating The Same Story nt

[machoneman]

23. Let's send Trumpy, Pompeo and Q-tip as a US mission to mourn Trump's fav dicatator!

Then ship Kim's sis say 1 billion in US cash to keep them...............forever!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

25. "reportedly" or "rumoured" ... those are the right tone at the moment.

Reports and rumours can turn out to be false. But they are indicative, though definitely not definitive.

[fiddler13]

26. If Kim is in fact dead

Can we send our "Dear Leader" as a replacement?

If Kim is "Brain Dead" North Korea cannot be in any greater lack of a leader than the US.

[marble falls]

45. The anarchy if this is true will be mind blowing.

[LudwigPastorius]

29. I read part of that headline as "DICTATOR KIM JONG DON" and got excited.

Oh well...

[Scarsdale]

41. Yeah, if this

IS true, why does NC have all the luck?? Our "dear leader" is just as fat, lousy diet, uncontrolled temper tantrums.

[Sneederbunk]

31. Wait to see if he shows up for May Day celebrations.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

32. Thoughts and prayers for the surgical team ...

... all of whom have probably fallen from high windows by now.

[Iggo]

37. That's Russia. North Korea uses machine guns. (n/t)

[SunSeeker]

54. That's also North Korea's cure for COVID-19.

https://www.techtimes.com/articles/248138/20200318/north-korea-boasts-zero-coronavirus-case-after-reportedly-shooting-covid-19-patient-experts-left-doubtful.htm

[Igel]

33. If true, still not first.

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

It's been circulating. Search DU, you'll get some hits for the last couple of days, and there are some from closer to 4/21.

S. Korea scotched the reports mid-week by saying that the rumors of his demise were wrong.

Then again, maybe he died then and he's still dead, or perhaps he's dead again.

Yeah, by not, not yuge.

[Marthe48]

36. was dr. trump involved?

n/t

[Ilsa]

38. Miracle Max reminds us:

[flibbitygiblets]

42. We could also stand to lose an obese dictator with stupid hair

just saying

[Politicub]

44. Weibo is Chinese twitter. I wouldn't place much stock in the post about Kim Jong Un

There is something going on with him, but right now it's just a guessing game.

[marble falls]

46. And in tonight's news, Generalisimo Franco is still dead.

[left-of-center2012]

47. Did Kim ingest Clorox or Lysol, per Dr Trump?

[Stuart G]

48. It has also been reported tonight that the "Mighty Casy" has struck out" (more to come later)

[Steelrolled]

49. How do they know it was botched

It might have went entirely as planned.

[oldsoftie]

52. Trump will now campaign that he got rid of Un

[tclambert]

53. In other news, Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.

Doctors are encouraged by his valiant 45-year long fight to remain dead.

[Recursion]

61. Maybe he's pining for the fjords (nt)

[Tarc]

63. May list last few moments have been spent in angst and agony

[Omaha Steve]

64. After a review by forum hosts....LOCKING

TMZ is not considered a good source for LBN.

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