Defectors drops cash, USB drives and anti-Kim Jong un posters into North Korea amid claims dictator has died
NORTH Korean defectors have flown balloons dropping leaflets, cash, USB drives and SD cards into the rogue state amid rumours Kim Jong-un is dead.
The dictator, 36, has not been seen in public since April 11 sparking reports that he has passed away or is gravely ill following heart surgery.
Members of activist group Fighters for a Free North Korea (FFNK) released 20 balloons carrying 500,000 flyers into the rogue state.
They used the leaflets to carry in the news that two high-profile defectors had won seats in South Korea's parliament, Ji Seong-ho and Thae Yong Ho.
The balloons - also carrying posters of the two men -were released in Incheon, close to the border reports .
In a statement, FFK said: "The North Korean regime calls these two ‘human scum and the traitor of the people,’ but the free Republic of Korea has made these two become lawmakers of the highest legislative institution — unthinkable in North Korea."
Approximately 500 booklets, 2,000 one-dollar bills, 1000 USB sticks and 1000 SD cards were carried over the border along with the leaflets inside the large balloons.
North Korea has previously called such efforts “hostile acts” that are the “root cause of military tension” in the region.
It comes as Mr Ji said he has been told Kim died last week and that the secretive country will reveal his passing in the coming days.
He told Yonhap News Agency: "I've wondered how long he could have endured after cardiovascular surgery. I've been informed that Kim died last weekend.
"It is not 100 percent certain, but I can say the possibility is 99 percent. North Korea is believed to be grappling with a complicated succession issue.”
There is no obvious successor to Kim who has at least two young children with his wife Ri Sol-ju.
His sister Kim Yo-jong, believed to be head of his propaganda machine, is the favourite to succeed him, it has been reported.
The despot, who seized power in 2011, failed to attend the annual birthday celebrations of his grandfather Kim Il-sung, the revered founder of North Korea, on April 15.
The other defector turned South Korean politician Mr Thae, a former diplomat for the rogue state, says the leader's absence from the celebrations prove he is ill or injured.
He told : “Kim Jong Un is not only the leader of North Korea, but he is the grandson of Kim Il-sung ... to North Korean eyes it is really abnormal.
"I'm not quite sure whether he really had some surgery or whatever, but one thing is clear... he cannot stand up by himself or walk properly.”
Last week, Japanese newspaper reported Kim had been left in a vegetative state by a bungled heart operation.
It comes after Shijian Xingzou, vice director of Beijing-backed broadcaster Hong Kong Satellite Television, fuelled online rumours the tyrant was already dead.
She said on Chinese social media site Weibo that a "very solid source" had told her that Kim had died but did not give any further details.
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It has emerged that North Koreans are "secretly elated" that their sadistic leader might be dead - and authorities appear to have stopped trying to quell the rumours.
Kim's people have suffered greatly under his rule as crippling sanctions from the US have destroyed the kingdom's fragile economy, leading to widespread poverty.
“There are quite a few people who are secretly elated at the rumours," an insider told South Korean news outlet .
"So many North Koreans are suffering from malnutrition that it’s unlikely that there are many who feel overly concerned about Kim Jong-un’s health."
