We've been here before. An enthusiastic South Korean website staffed by North Korean defectors reports that the tyrant in Pyongyang is on his last legs.
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It is then taken as gospel and reported around the world. Everyone gets very excited.
Here's the Daily Mail this week: "Kim Jong Un, 36, in critical condition as North Korea fights coronavirus: Dictator is 'in grave danger after heart surgery' and his sister could be in next line to take control".
Except that nobody actually knows. When it comes to North Korea, there is a history of claims which turn out to be demonstrably untrue.
"KIM IL SUNG, AT 74, IS REPORTED DEAD," blasted the New York Times on November 17, 1986 - but the then dictator (and Kim Jong-un's grandfather) actually died in 1994.
Or here's the Reuters news agency in 2014: "North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, shown using a cane for support, re-appeared in state media on Tuesday after a lengthy public absence that had fueled speculation over his health and grip on power in the secretive, nuclear-capable country."
And here's the British Independent on another surprising reappearance: "The ex-girlfriend of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un who was thought to have been executed by firing squad last year has appeared back on state television smiling and talking."
Take reports of Mr Kim's imminent death with a bucket of salt - until you see the cortege.
Or another case of a miracle, reported in the Guardian: "A senior North Korean official who was reportedly sent to a labour camp has attended a concert alongside the country's leader, Kim Jong-un, state media have said."
It was true that Kim Jong-un had vanished from public view in 2014, and that prompted feverish speculation. Was he dead? Nobody knew but it didn't stop the whirring of the media rumour mill. Those who wanted to believe - like North Korean defectors - seized the misinformation.
It turned out then that the North Korean leader had injured his knee - the walking stick and the limp were clearly visible when he did emerge.
Gout through too much red wine, the speculators then speculated. (His obesity, by the way, was - we were assured - because of his love for Swiss cheese, an addiction he had picked up during his education in Switzerland).
READ MORE: Report Kim Jong-un gravely ill rejected
When I covered North Korea, I met a spy who worked for the South Korean Central Intelligence Agency.
I had lunch with him in the KCIA canteen just outside Seoul. It was an odd affair because he wasn't allowed to disclose his name.
He talked about what he did. A lot of it involved just studying photographs on North Korean media. He concluded, for example, that because a woman close to Kim Jong-un was wearing flat shoes, she might well have been pregnant.
The women there agreed - but it's a flimsy way of getting insight into a country.
It might, though, be the best they can do.
Take reports of Mr Kim's imminent death with a bucket of salt - until you see the cortege.
- Steve Evans is a former Korea Correspondent for the BBC. He is now a reporter for The Canberra Times
Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
