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Kim Jong-un makes first public appearance in 40 days

October 14, 2014
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made his first public appearance in 40 days. (Yonhap)

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made his first public appearance in 40 days. (Yonhap)

SEOUL (Yonhap) — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has made his first public appearance in more than a month, giving a “field guidance” at a newly built housing complex, according to Pyongyang’s state media.

The visit to the Wisong Scientists Residential District marked the first time Kim has appeared in public since he attended a musical concert on Sept. 3.

“Watching the exterior of the apartment houses and public buildings nicely decorated with diverse color tiles, he was very pleased to see them. He said they looked very attractive, presenting fantastic scenery,” the North’s Korean Central News Agency said.

Kim’s prolonged absence from public view, including his failure to show up at important national events, has spurred speculation and rumors ranging from health problems to a military coup, though the U.S. has dimissed rumors of a coup as “false.”

Kim became leader after his father Kim Jong-il died in late 2011. Officials and analysts have said Kim has since consolidated power. The young leader even executed his uncle Jang Song-thaek last year, accusing him of treason.