Person

Kim Jong Un

1. Follow-up: Kim Jong-un returns to North Korea after one-day China visit; KCNA cites 'blood-forged' friendship as Choe Son-hui and Kim Yo-jong accompany him

   North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited Dandong in Liaoning province via the New Yalu River Bridge on Saturday, Oct 24, and returned to North Korea the same day. KCNA reported on Oct 25 that Kim toured the Memorial Hall of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea in Dandong and laid a wreath at the memorial tower, saying the North Korean people would pass down their gratitude to the Chinese people for generations; Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui and Workers' Party Central Committee department director Kim Yo-jong accompanied him, and Politburo Standing Committee member Wang Huning received him. Before the China trip he also paid respects at a Chinese People's Volunteers martyrs' cemetery in Hoechang County, South Phyongan province; KCNA said a volunteers' cemetery in Sinphyong County, North Hwanghae province, had been expanded into a martyrs' park with a completion ceremony on Oct 24 attended by a Chinese Ministry of Veterans Affairs delegation. NHK said the visit may have been aimed at coordinating with China ahead of possible renewed talks with the United States.

   Oct 25, 2026 Afternoon
2. Kim Jong-un crosses newly opened New Yalu River Bridge into Dandong, China, on first visit to China in a year

   South Korea's Unification Ministry and Xinhua said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Dandong, Liaoning province, on Saturday, Oct 24, via the New Yalu River Bridge, which opened about a week earlier; it is his first visit to China in a year. Wang Huning, a member of the Chinese Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee, met Kim, and the two toured a car factory and pledged to strengthen ties. The visit comes close to Oct 25, the anniversary of the Chinese People's Volunteers' first major victory after entering the Korean War in 1950, and Kyodo reported traffic controls around the bridge and the war memorial museum.

   Oct 25, 2026 Morning
3. Follow-up: Kim Jong Un guides two-day North Korean army company commanders' conference in Pyongyang, appearing again after death rumours

   South Korea's KBS and Yonhap reported that Kim Jong Un guided the third conference of company commanders of the whole army in Pyongyang on Oct 22-23, stressing 'building a powerful army'; it was the first military-sector conference since the ruling party's Ninth Congress in February. State reports did not mention the DMZ or the United States. South Korea's National Intelligence Service had earlier said rumours of Kim's death were false, and state media published photos of him on an inspection on Oct 20.

   Oct 24, 2026 Afternoon
4. South Korea's spy agency says rumours of Kim Jong Un's death are false, though his 140 kg weight puts him at high cardiovascular risk

   Hankyoreh, citing several ruling-party members of parliament's intelligence committee, reported that South Korea's National Intelligence Service told the committee on Oct 23 that recent rumours on social media at home and abroad about Kim Jong Un's death or abnormal health were untrue. The agency had reported on Sept 30 that Kim weighs around 140 kg and is at high risk of cardiovascular disease, but was able to run up stairs while inspecting a destroyer and has a dedicated medical team, with no abnormal signs. It also said Kim Yo Jong and a defence ministry adviser inspected 'southern border fortification' sites near the Military Demarcation Line on Oct 20; the committee will audit the agency on Oct 29.

   Oct 24, 2026 Morning
5. North Korean state media publish photos of Kim Jong Un at exhibition after online rumours of his death

   The BBC and KBS reported that the Rodong Sinmun and KCNA published photos on Tuesday showing 42-year-old Kim Jong Un visiting a clothing and footwear exhibition with his wife and daughter the previous day. A US-based Chinese dissident had claimed on X, without evidence, that Kim died after being taken to a Beijing hospital with a sudden brain haemorrhage, followed by unverified claims online that China had sent 9,000 soldiers into Pyongyang.

   Oct 21, 2026 Morning