Kim Jong Un Death Rumor Explodes On Twitter, Weibo (UPDATE)

UPDATE 2: A senior U.S. official told CNN on Friday that there is no evidence that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was assassinated in Beijing, China. "With that society you can never be 100% sure, but we just don't see any evidence of it," the unnamed official said, according to CNN. "It's a closed society, but at this point we do not believe it's true."

UPDATE 1: An unverified and apparently fake account bearing the BBC logo and the handle @BBCLiveNews has posted a misleading tweet: "Confirmed breaking news. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un assassinated. Updates to follow." As of 4 p.m., no major media outlets had confirmed the truth of this rumor.

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PREVIOUSLY: An unconfirmed rumor hit the web on Friday morning claiming that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was assassinated in Beijing, China.

According to Gawker, the rumors began on Chinese-language microblog Sina Weibo, the Chinese web equivalent of Twitter. Users credited "reliable sources" and said the incident took place at the North Korean embassy in Beijing.

Gawker also linked to a translated feed featuring posts about the rumor (via Google Translate), which you can view here.

The rumor also found its way over to Twitter, even climbing its way up the site's Trending Topics list prior to 1 p.m. on Friday.

Many on Twitter are skeptical of the rumor, as it was reported several hours ago on Weibo and at 1 p.m. apparently had not yet been confirmed by major Chinese media outlets.

According to a tweet from Christian May, a political consultant for MIPPR, an unusual number of cars were spotted outside the North Korean embassy in Beijing.

"Rumour of Kim Jong Un's death based on news that a host of blacked out cars have descended upon embassy in Beijing, where he was visiting," May tweeted.

The Atlantic Wire notes that Chinese journalist Joe Xu also mentioned in a tweet that many cars were seen outside the embassy.

However, Xu mentioned later that the assassination rumor may have been "set up" as a distraction from the media buzz surrounding well-known Chinese police officer Wang Lijun, who is reportedly under investigation after initiating unauthorized contact with the U.S. embassy in Chengdu, according to the International Business Times. Xu wrote that "Wang Lijun" has become a trending topic on Weibo.

On December 29 the AP reported that Kim Jong Un was named successor to the late Kim Jong Il, who had held power in North Korea since 1994.

Check out the slideshow below to see reactions from Twitter users who came across the rumor of Kim Jong Un's death on Friday.

Also on HuffPost:

Comments

[Rodger leMonde]

04:54 PM on 02/13/2012

Un assinated, sort of sums it up.

[Jerry Bourbon]

12:45 PM on 02/13/2012

(Cue the camera to a cockroach crawling out of Kim Jong Ir's mouth) "You have not seen the last of me! I will be back!"

[doinaheckuvanutjob]

02:06 AM on 02/13/2012

He looks unhealthy but not dead yet. Of course, being overweight is a sign of higher status there. The video was interesting how oddly hysterical the enforced reverence for the regime is there. I've read about that, but seeing it is more amazing.

Perhaps some teenager on Twitter started the rumor for a lark, though the Chinese govt. distraction theory sounds good.

[KOisGod]

12:44 AM on 02/13/2012

Rumors of this punks death, unfortunately, are greatly exaggerated.

[KOisGod]

12:44 AM on 02/13/2012

That was the old man. This is about his son.

[sensimilla]

11:14 AM on 02/13/2012

the old man was assassinated? WOWIE.

[sixyfivepercentwater]

08:34 PM on 02/12/2012

In related news, it was pointed out that it doesn't actually matter if he's alive, because hundreds of Kim Looks Ill clones are waiting in secret locations to be activated.

[cptbfhrt]

11:26 PM on 02/12/2012

It actually doesn't matter if he's dead. His dead father is still president.

[Dhammi]

07:36 PM on 02/12/2012

Wow!

[DoesNotComputer]

07:29 PM on 02/12/2012

Kim Jong Un doesn't read books.

He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.

[Leo12Pack]

08:31 PM on 02/12/2012

Maybe he is really a Bush...

[TheSarge]

07:27 PM on 02/12/2012

Athens burns but the dear leader III has croaked. I guess the day wasnt a total loss.

[Pugiron]

07:14 PM on 02/12/2012

It was actually a roving gang of bullies that saw a fat kid and just beat him up and took his lunch money.

[Mickey Bitsko]

02:04 PM on 02/12/2012

Shat Hippens.

[sscon4]

01:12 PM on 02/12/2012

Could there be a break coming for the starving N. Koreans?

[TheSarge]

07:31 PM on 02/12/2012

I sure hope so, I was at the JSA in 02-03 and suffering in N Korea is a reality. Eventually they will be free and I hope I am alive to see the faces of the people when they see the world for what it really is. Yeah sure it can be rough, but they live in a world devoid of fact or freedom. I watched N Korean after they crossed the border, they would collapse and cry. It was heart wrenching even for an Infantryman.

[sixyfivepercentwater]

08:35 PM on 02/12/2012

No.

[WatcherfrmLeft]

11:28 AM on 02/12/2012

The Chinese are perfectly content with NK as is. It's a buffer. What concerns them including Japan is the coming together of North and South. South Korea is a society that can be very competitive to both nations as they've shown by thier automobiles, appliances, and electronics. Historically the tide reversed when NK was the manufacturing power, the South agriculture. It's reversed today. After Spending 5 years working militarily with South Koreans, and my duties at a very remote site, I developed a respect for their military abilities, and their tenacity. Those who served in Vietnam will tell you they were a force that was feared and respected by North Vietnamese. Actions that bring unification will be stopped by the Chinese and Russia. A great deal of ill will from the Korean War by the South, and rightfully so. It was brutal and those who know Korea, the word cold can be defined as treacherous.

[mtwashingtonmike]

01:19 PM on 02/12/2012

When it comes right down to it the Chinese would not be able to stop the peaceful reunification of Korea anymore then the Russians could stop the peaceful reunification of Germany. That being said the reunification of Korea would be much more difficult and would take a generation or more. Because of relatively open communication there was little difference between East and West Germans. The difference was mostly economic. In Korea the North's hermit like behavior as left most North Koreans as familiar with South Korea as they would be with someone living on the moon. The reverse, South to North is only a little better. It would be tumultuous but in the long run it would be worth it.

[WatcherfrmLeft]

03:06 PM on 02/12/2012

The only way it could be accomplished is from aid besides China, Russia, and other nations they receive assistance from. Your correct on the generation issue, however; what has happened since the Korean War and even their history with Japan, Kpreans have difficulty in forgetting. It's a controlled environmnt and the reason NK Army is so large is the obvious. Eliminates starvation. The reunification stumbling blocks is not the people but the regimes in power on both sides. When Pak Chong Hui was assassinated I was with Eight Army and the tightrope everyone in their Army was walking was obvious with fear attached. When we(US) start beating war drums against NK I cringe. It would not be a cake walk because of my experience in the country and their capabilities. Plus they won't make the same mistakes that allowed Inchon. Thanks for your thoughts.

[TheSarge]

07:33 PM on 02/12/2012

You nailed it! Comparing life North Vs South would be impossible.

[Jerry Bourbon]

12:46 PM on 02/13/2012

Forget the Chinese, the Japanese are terrified of unification. A unified Korea, with the South's present sense of having been wronged by the Japanese, and without the need to aim all their guns at each other could be VERY destabilizing.

[WatcherfrmLeft]

01:09 PM on 02/13/2012

Absolutely right. Their history goes back centuries with a great deal of dislike and distrust. In the 70's we were content as the Russia maintained many divisions on the Chinese Border, the Chinese countered the Russians plus the ones on the NK Border. Playing this game cost money for everyone.

[nam medic]

09:01 AM on 02/12/2012

We are broke and the last three Sec. of States gave the NK loonie bin more tax dollars. Clinton, Rice, and Albright paid for this guy's haircuts and Sears outfits. Priceless.

[sixyfivepercentwater]

08:36 PM on 02/12/2012

Right. It would be impossible to make this stuff up, wouldn't it?

[Pat OLeary]

06:29 AM on 02/12/2012

It IS hard to find any reference to Kim Jong Un on the KCNA - I did find one reference - he only gets the title "the dear respected" - a comedown, surely?
"...The Koreans who were sobbing being shocked by the unexpected and untimely loss of the nation's father were again moved to tears at what Kim Jong Un had done for them.
He might have felt bigger pain than others but he looked into the supply of fish to the Pyongyang citizens, a matter which leader Kim Jong Il was concerned about even on Dec. 16, just the day before his death, as he was always greatly considerate of the diet of the citizens in the capital.
Moved by Kim Jong Un's loving care for the people identical to Kim Jong Il, the citizens sobbed again....... Kim Jong Un is a great sun that embraces the people and brings happy life to them. "
Who needs Fox when you have KCNA!