North Korea’s chairman Kim Jong-un has fallen asleep at an event commemorating his grandfather Kim Il-Sung, breaking alleged norms of the isolated republic, The Mirror and the Daily Star report. The tabloids spotted him zoning out for a moment as they studied the footage from the rally.
They insist that the DPRK leader seemed to shut his eyes for a suspiciously long time while sitting on the stage and that his head slumped onto his shoulder before bouncing back up. According to the media, he is also seen to start clapping last and quit earlier than other participants in the pompous event.
Citing South Korean intelligence reports, The Mirror points out that one of the country’s former defence ministers, Hyon Yong- chol, as well as Vice-Premier Kim Yong-jin were allegedly executed for this very same reason – falling asleep during public events. It, however, points out that different reports suggested that the latter lost his life over suggesting policy changes, said to undermine the country’s authorities.
While several commenters were seemingly appalled by the report and rushed to discuss the rumoured terror in the isolated country, some voiced their skepticism. One user even went so far as to brand the piece “fake news”.
It’s not the first time that British tabloids have reported shocking details of executions in North Korea, which seemed anecdotic to some.
In June, the same Daily Star cited an unnamed UK intelligence officer as claiming that North Korea's leader pulled a "classic Kim" and executed a general by throwing him into a fish tank teeming with piranhas imported from Brazil. The report, however, left social media users unimpressed, as they pointed out that the entire story smelled fishy.
