Odishatv Bureau

Pyongyang: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony of a phosphatic fertiliser factory on Friday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Saturday.

This was the top leader's first public appearance in state media in more than 20 days. Kim Jong-un was last seen in state media on April 11 presiding over a Politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party.

"All the participants broke into thunderous cheers of 'hurrah!' extending the greatest glory to the Supreme Leader who has brought about a new change" in the development of the fertiliser industry, Xinhua reported citing the KCNA.

Kim was joined by his sister Kim Yo Jong as well as other senior officials, it added.

[caption id="attachment_448617" align="aligncenter" width="675"]Kim Jong-un appears in public Image Credit- Twitter[/caption]

A completion ceremony of the Sunchon Phosphatic Fertilizer Factory, which has been built as the production base of fertilizer, was splendidly held on May Day, the international holiday of the working people of the whole world, the report said.

The speculations about Kim's health started after the state media reported his absence from a key ceremony commemorating the 108th birth anniversary of his late grandfather and national founder, Kim Il-sung. He has never skipped a visit to the mausoleum on the April 15 anniversary since taking office in late 2011.

[caption id="attachment_448618" align="alignnone" width="980"]Kim Jong-un appears in public Image Credit- Twitter[/caption]

The speculations escalated after a CNN report last week, citing a US official, said that Washington was looking into intelligence that Kim Jong-un was in "grave danger" after a surgery.

But North Korean state media outlets, such as the main Rodong Sinmun newspaper and the official Korean Central News Agency, have put out routine stories, such as Kim Jong-un sending diplomatic letters and conveying gifts to honoured citizens.

Yesterday, a North Korea defector elected as a lawmaker in South Korea claimed he was "99 per cent" sure that Pyongyang leader Kim Jong-un died after surgery amid rising speculation over his health, according to a media report.

"I've wondered how long he could have endured after cardiovascular surgery. I've been informed that Kim died last weekend," Ji Seong-ho, who earned a proportional representation seat of a minor party in the April 15 elections, told Yonhap News Agency, adding that North Korea may make the related announcement this weekend.

"It is not 100 per cent certain, but I can say the possibility is 99 per cent. North Korea is believed to be grappling with a complicated succession issue," he said.

Ji did not reveal the source of where he got his information and his claim cannot be verified independently, said the Yonhap News Agency report. The lawmaker-elect said that Kim Yo-jong, sister of the North's leader, is likely to succeed him, as many experts have already speculated.

However, it is not rare for Kim Jong-un to disappear from the public eye. His longest absence from public view was in September 2014, when he disappeared for an unprecedented 40 days and returned limping.

Seoul's intelligence agency later said that he had a cyst removed from his ankle.

(With agency inputs)

 

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