North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is 'dead' or in a 'vegetative state' - according to media reports.
Questions have been asked about the health of the 36-year-old Supreme Leader of the DPRK after he underwent a heart operation.
Now rumours are circulating that the highly secretive head of state has died following the op.
The Washington Post has reported the comments of a vice director of HKSTV Hong Kong Satellite Television who said the North Korean leader was dead and cited a “very solid source".
The claim appeared in a post on Chinese messaging app Weibo before being shared widely across the country.
Other reports have claimed that a team of specialist Chinese doctors have visited North Korea to work on Kim.
A Japanese magazine is reporting he is in a 'vegetative state' after undergoing heart surgery earlier this month, while counter-claims say the operation went wrong and he is dead.
The leader has not appeared in public since he presided over a meeting on April 11.
Rumours over his health were further fueled by his absence from Day of the Sun celebrations on April 15.
News from North Korea is extremely rare with the dictatorship censoring opposing voices and only broadcasting propaganda.
The government have not confirmed any of the claims.
