Twitter Rumor Claims Kim Jong-Un Murdered by Ninja Assassins

Yes. You read that correctly.

The Twittersphere is aflutter with rumors that the heir to the late Kim Jong-Il's communist dynasty, Kim Jong-Un, has been taken out of commission by a stealth contingent of ninja assassins.

But alas, like most rumors, the claims are unsubstantiated and Kim Jong-Un is alive and kicking.

From Fox News:

A team of trained ninja assassins snuck into North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's room overnight and assassinated the new leader while he was on a business trip in Beijing -- if rumors spreading across microblogging service Twitter and its Chinese counterpart Weibo are to be believed, that is.

The rumors -- unsubstantiated by any major news service or government agency -- started on the Chinese language Twitter clone earlier today, claiming Jong-Un had been killed in his residence.

“According to reliable sources, North Korean leader [Kim Jong-Un was killed] in Beijing in February 10 2012, at 2 o'clock and 45 minutes. Unknown persons broke into his residence shot and were subsequently shot and killed by the bodyguard,” one Tweet claimed.

No new photo of the leader of the reclusive country has emerged -- at least none picked up by the popular tumblr blog Kim Jong-Un Looking at Things.

The news spread like wildfire across Twitter and Weibo, quickly become fodder for jokes. Some follow below:

“Hearing unconfirmed reports that Kim Jong-Un is the new England manager,” wrote a journalist with The Sun.

“BREAKING: Kim Jong-Un death confirmed, now registered to vote in Chicago,” wrote a Washington Times correspondent.

Other Twitter users were more cautious:

“Wait for confirmation on Kim Jong-Un death rumors. Twitter is also reporting that ‘Jonas Brothers are the best band,’” wrote one Twitter user.