North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un has not been seen in public for nearly a month, according to CBS News. The North Korean leader's absence from the Supreme People's Assembly (North Korea's parliament) and his continued seclusion since has caused some speculation regarding Kim's health.
According to CNN, observers have remarked on Kim's weight gain as well as a limp that was noticed in July. Korea's state-run news, KNCA, announced that Kim's public appearances have gone from 24 in July to 16 in August. Kim has only made one public appearance in September when he attended a concert with his wife, Ri Sol Ju, on Sept. 3.
CBS News cited Chosun Ilbo, South Korea's largest newspaper by circulation, as reporting Kim had ankle surgery in mid-September.
The ruler was conspicuously absent from the assembly on Sept. 26.
"We expected to see him at the Supreme People's Assembly, because he had attended that session every time," professor of North Korean Studies at Korea University Yoo Ho-Yeol said, according to CNN. "So we are speculating that he might have problems with his health."
According to the Washington Post, South Korean officials say that may have been the first time Kim has missed a parliamentary meeting since his father, Kim Jong II, died in December of 2011.
Other speculations include concerns for security.
"Another reason why Kim may be reluctant to appear in public is the ongoing power struggle inside the North Korean military, which means that the situation in Pyongyang is still unstable," a professor at Tokyo's Waseda University, Toshimitsu Shigemura, told the Daily Telegraph.
The Daily Mirror suggested that cheese may be the culprit. According to the publication, Kim has overindulged in Swiss emmental cheese. The Wall Street Journal reported that a South Korean official said that it is believed that Kim is suffering from "gout, diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity."
"The disease of kings" runs in the 31-year-old leader's family.
