Analysis: No, North Korean leader likely didn't feed his uncle to 120 dogs

Friday's viral Internet story claims that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had his uncle executed last month by stripping him naked and feeding him to 120 hungry dogs. The story was first reported by a minor Hong Kong outlet on Dec. 12, was picked up by a Singaporean newspaper on Dec. 24 and since late Thursday has been sweeping through nearly every corner of the U.S. media. The only problem is that it's probably - probably - not true.

It was a surprise last month when South Korean intelligence revealed that Kim had purged his own uncle, Jang Song Thaek, which North Korea confirmed a couple of days later with a long screed in its state media. The highly public nature of the purge, which ended with Pyongyang announcing Jang's execution, was unprecedented and legitimately shocking.

Crazy-sounding stories happen with some frequency in North Korea, where the government has a reputation for taking political punishments to medieval extremes. But there are five big reasons that this story just does not seem particularly plausible. The fact that the Western media have so widely accepted a story they would reject if it came out of any other country tells us a lot about how North Korea is covered, and how it's misunderstood.

First and foremost, consider the source. The story originated in a Hong Kong newspaper called Wen Wei Po, which makes the claim without citing a source. Also, a recent study found that, out of Hong Kong's 21 newspapers, Wen Wei Po ranks 19th for credibility.

Second, consider that the rest of the Chinese media have not touched this story in the almost-month since it came out. The remainder of the Chinese media have been sticking to the same story that everyone else has: that Jang was killed by either machine gun or antiaircraft guns.

Third, South Korea's media also have not touched the story. "This story has hardly been picked up on by Korean media which is one reason to be suspicious," Chad O'Carroll, who edits the news site NKNews.org, said via e-mail. "The other reason to be suspicious is because the rumor surfaced ages ago - but no one paid attention to it." South Korean media are quite plugged in to North Korean defector communities, to sources still in the country and most especially to South Korea's intelligence agency. Some of those outlets can be eager to pick up stories or rumors that portray North Korea in a negative light. But South Korea's many news outlets seem to be treating this story as implausible.

Fourth, the time lapse: This story has been around for almost a month, and it's not been anywhere near confirmed. That alone is not surprising, but the fact that Asia's many media circles have not even deigned to acknowledge the report is pretty telling.

Fifth, the predominant story of what happened is much more plausible. Far more credible outlets with far more credible sourcing have consistently described Jang as having been executed by firing squad. This is just much more consistent with what we know about North Korea.