Crying wolf on national security
Seoul should mull disclosing info about Pyongyang to curb fake news
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's surprise day trip to the Chinese border city of Dandong came amid rumors claiming he had died after suffering a severe brain hemorrhage.
Unlike in 2020, when similar claims made international headlines, mainstream media outlets remained cautious this time. Journalists appear to have learned a bitter lesson from the disastrous media coverage six years ago. At the time, some outlets reported Kim's death based on a high-profile North Korean defector's claim that he was "99 percent certain" that the leader had died. Days later, Kim appeared in public, debunking the reports.
The erroneous reports significantly eroded public trust in the media. When viewers and readers lose confidence in what the media reports, news organizations pay the price.
The 2020 debacle has since served as a cautionary tale about the importance of evidence-based journalism, reminding journalists to double- and triple-check their sources and assess their credibility before publishing unverified claims.
While journalists were cautious about the latest rumors, the public was not.
The rumor spread rapidly across the internet. In an apparent effort to quell speculation, North Korea released photographs of Kim. But the images did little to silence the doubters. Some even claimed that the person in the photographs was Kim's body double.
Kim's surprise visit to China on Saturday, along with coverage by Chinese state media, ultimately helped put the rumors to rest.
The latest rumors about Kim's death should serve as a wake-up call about the dangers of fake news. In the digital age, fake news can outlive fact-based reporting. Social media platforms and YouTube channels have emerged as alternative sources of information, increasing the risk that false claims will spread unchecked. Unverified information is published and circulated every day in the name of news. The consequences can be particularly serious when such claims concern national security, as the recent rumors about Kim's death demonstrate. The North Korean leader's health is a significant security issue.
Kim's surprise visit to the Chinese border city helped dispel speculation about his health. His public appearance confirmed that he was alive and, whether intentionally or not, helped put an end to the rumors. In this sense, Kim himself played a part in countering fake news.
Yet the rumors shifted public attention in South Korea away from the implications of Kim's China visit and toward the far more basic question of whether he was alive. This diversion comes at a cost to South Korea's preparedness and ability to respond to developments in the North.
If the public repeatedly cries wolf, the warning itself will eventually lose its force. For South Korea, a country facing an adversary across the border, this complacency could prove dangerous.
Kim's visit to China was no ordinary trip. It was unusual in that he traveled to the neighboring country without holding a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Instead, Kim met with Wang Huning, the fourth-ranking official in the Chinese Communist Party.
Kim also entered China by crossing the New Amnok River Bridge by car. Originally completed in 2014, the bridge connects Dandong in China with Sinuiju in North Korea. Although it was originally scheduled to open that year, strained relations between Pyongyang and Beijing delayed its opening for more than a decade.
Kim's surprise trip signals a potential shift in Sino-North Korean relations and the prospect of increased bilateral trade. Once fully operational, the roughly 3-kilometer-long bridge could become an important conduit for trade between the two countries, further strengthening China's role as North Korea's economic partner.
Increased trade with China would provide North Korea with a more stable source of revenue, helping it further finance its weapons of mass destruction programs — a clear threat to South Korea's security.
Fake news about Kim's health has diverted the Korean public's attention from these critical security implications, forcing people to focus instead on whether the North Korean leader is alive. South Korea is paying the price for this distraction.
Fake news thrives when reliable information is scarce or inaccessible. Repeated rumors about Kim's health persist partly because information about North Korea and developments inside the country remains severely limited. To curb the spread of misinformation, the Lee Jae Myung administration should consider whether greater, carefully calibrated disclosure of information about North Korea is possible.
If South Korea's intelligence authorities had confirmed Kim's condition in a timely manner, the rumors might have lost momentum before spreading so widely. Truth helps prevent misunderstanding and slow the spread of fake news.
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