North Korea’s leader returns to public view

North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, using a cane for support, visited the newly built Wisong Scientists Residential District and another new institute, state media reported on Tuesday, ending a lengthy absence from public view that had fueled speculation over his health and grip on power in the secretive country.

Several pictures on the front page of Tuesday's Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed Kim smiling and gesturing, surrounded by aides and wearing his signature dark buttoned suit and appearing to be supporting himself with a black cane.

He "took necessary steps with loving care" and vowed to turn the area into a "world-class science city," said a dispatch early Tuesday from the official Korean Central News Agency.

"Our scientists are patriots who are devoting all their lives to building a rich and powerful nation," said Kim, according to the news agency.

The reports, which could not be independently verified, did not mention Kim’s 40-day absence from public view or his health. They did not specify when his visit to the developments occurred.

Before the Tuesday dispatches, Kim was last seen in the media at a Sept. 3 concert. Since then, informed analysts and frequent visitors to Pyongyang said Kim’s absence probably wasn't anything that serious.

Speculation ran rife.

Kim was, by turns, reported to be suffering from gout, diabetes, a brain hemorrhage, a heart ailment, a leg injury that required surgery from a French doctor, mental illness or, according to a British report, a cheese addiction. There were rumors of coups.

All this was fed by his missing events that he normally attends and his description in an official documentary last month as experiencing "discomfort." Archive footage from the summer showed him overweight and limping.

But officials South Korea had said recently that there were no indications Kim was in political trouble.

At a South Korean parliamentary hearing Monday, Choi Yoon-hee, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a lawmaker that whatever health problems Kim might have, they "are not severe enough to disrupt his status as the ruler of the country."

Diplomacy at the highest level continued. Three members of his inner circle made a surprise visit to the South, something analysts say would be impossible without his blessing.

A source with access to the North's leadership told Reuters on Thursday that Kim was in firm control of the country but had hurt his leg taking part in a military drill.

Tuesday’s reports of Kim's activities may be aimed at dispelling rumors outside the country and to ease any concern in the North and its military after an exchange of gunfire on Friday between North and South Korea, an analyst said.

"He's the military leader, and there was military action a few days ago," said An Chan-il, who served in the North's army as a junior officer before defecting to the South in 1979 and now heads a private think tank on North Korea in Seoul.

"There was likely concern inside the North's military as well as among the public," which would be eased by Kim's reappearance, he said.

Wire services