Fact Check: Did North Korea's Kim Jong Un pay tribute to Dolly Parton?

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: After Dolly Parton’s death in August 2026, a claim about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un began circulating online. Social media posts claimed that Kim paid tribute to the country music icon from the summit of Mount Paektu, a site deeply tied to North Korean history and symbolism. Let's fact-check the claim.

Claim: Kim Jong Un paid tribute to Dolly Parton after her death

The rumor began with an X account that posted, “Fond memories of dear friend Dolly Parton immortalized from summit of Mt Paektu.” 

The post appeared to suggest that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had personally honored Parton from the summit of Mount Paektu following her death.

The claim gained attention as tributes to Parton poured in from musicians, public figures and world leaders after her reported death. Some social media users appeared to treat a post from the account @DPRK_News as an official message from the North Korean government. 

The account's wording and references to Mount Paektu helped fuel speculation that Kim had made a personal tribute to the country music star.

Mount Paektu holds a prominent place in North Korean state propaganda and is closely associated with the country's leadership. 

Because of that symbolism, the alleged tribute quickly drew online attention and was shared as an unusual gesture from Kim toward Parton.

Fact Check: The claim is false

The claim is false. It came from the @DPRK_News account on X, which carries a “Parody Account” label. X says this label applies to accounts that discuss, satirize, or share information in a way that may not be serious.

The account has previously fooled major media outlets into treating its satirical posts as real statements from North Korea. It has also published other fictional stories about the country. Some posts were clearly false, while others used real news events to create believable jokes, including a claim that North Korea had reached a trade deal with Canada.

The photo used in the post is real but does not show Kim Jong Un paying tribute to Dolly Parton. The image comes from a December 2019 report about Kim visiting Mount Paektu, North Korea's highest peak.

Google searches found no credible reports showing that Kim publicly paid tribute to Parton after her death. 

The same news account was created as a parody of North Korean state media. Its writers, identified as Patrick Popehat and Derrick Popehat, reportedly told Newsweek in 2014 that they based the account's posts on the language and rhetoric used by North Korean state media and Soviet newspapers.