CNN reported at 1:06 AM EDT, Tue April 21, 2020 that Kim Jong Un, President of North Korea “is in grave danger after undergoing a previous surgery, according to a US official with direct knowledge.” A South Korean newspaper reported that the President was undergoing a cardiovascular procedure because of “excessive smoking, obesity, and overwork.”

According to a @NYTimes article from April 19, 2020, US President Donald Trump claimed to have received a nice letter from Kim Jong Un, however “North’s Foreign Ministry ​said, ‘There was no letter addressed recently to the U.S. president by the supreme leadership’ of the North.”

Recently, President Trump has offered to help North Korea with the Coronavirus, however, the NY Times article also reports that “Mr. Kim has repeatedly said that North Korea was no longer interested in diplomacy with the United States unless it changed what he called its hostile policy, including sanctions.”

There has been speculation that North Korea’s President has not been publicly seen at events recently, and the retraction of any letter from North Korean officials may lead to a confirmation about the status of the health of Mr. Kim.

Amidst the news, broke by @CNN, one reporter from @MSNBC tweeted that the North Korean leader was in fact brain dead.

However, shortly after the tweet was deleted and the statement was retracted due to lack of evidence.