North Korea atwitter over alleged assassination attempt on Kim Jong Un
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
A rumor is going around North Korea that a stack of explosives was found hidden inside the Kalma Airport on Oct. 6, allegedly planted to take leader Kim Jong Un's life, NK News reports. An anonymous source told Radio Free Asia that the discovery of the explosives in the international airport a day before the Dear Leader was due to arrive prompted his visit to be "canceled immediately."
The alleged explosives — said to be a "box of TNT" that was found "planted inside the roof of the airport's information desk" — had reportedly gone undetected in a search of the airport by Kim Jong Un's Supreme Guard Command. North Korea's State Security Department (SSD) reportedly discovered the hidden explosives.
South Korea says it smells a rat though: Jeong Jim-man, a former demolition instructor from the South Korean Special Forces, told NK News that he thinks the whole story may very well be "just another North Korea rumor."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"If North Korea's SSD had found out the explosives which Kim Jong Un's Supreme Guard Command had failed to locate, than the Supreme Guard Command might have been involved in the assassination attempt," he said. "But, also, it might have been an SSD setup to win Kim Jong Un's favor by setting up the TNT and pretending that they found it after the Supreme Guard Command had already swept the site."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
‘Poor time management isn’t just an inconvenience’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl: A win for unityFeature The global superstar's halftime show was a celebration for everyone to enjoy
-
Book reviews: ‘Bonfire of the Murdochs’ and ‘The Typewriter and the Guillotine’Feature New insights into the Murdoch family’s turmoil and a renowned journalist’s time in pre-World War II Paris
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump