North Korean leader Kim Jong-un 'has illness'

Kim Jong-un has been visibly limping in recent months

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has an unspecified medical problem, state media report, after he failed to appear at a key political event.

A report on state television said on Thursday that Mr Kim, 31, was in an "uncomfortable physical condition" but gave no details.

Earlier, the leader was absent from a session of the Supreme People's Assembly - North Korea's legislature.

Mr Kim has not been seen in public for more than three weeks.

His non-appearance at the SPA - to which he was elected in March with 100% of the vote - on Thursday prompted renewed speculation about the leader's whereabouts.

The report on state-run Central Television later in the day showed footage of the leader limping during one of his regular inspection tours back in July.

Overweight

Kim made his last public appearance on 3 September, when he attended a concert given by the Moranbong Band - an all-girl musical troupe reputedly hand-picked by the leader himself.

State newspaper Rodong Sinmun showed Mr Kim sitting in comfortable front-row seats, alongside his wife Ri Sol-ju.

Previous appearances, the usual diet of factory and military unit inspections, show a clearly overweight Mr Kim walking with a limp and wearing generously cut trousers, possibly to disguise his walking difficulties.

South Korean newspaper Joongang Daily supports the leg injury theory, and suggests that his disappearance may be due to an injury picked up during some sort of sporting activity.

It is known that Mr Kim is a lover of horse riding and is keen on watching basketball and football.

An anonymous source - said to be "familiar with North Korea affairs" - quoted by the South Korean news agency Yonhap, said he understood Mr Kim was "suffering from gout, along with hyperuricemia, hyperlipidemia, obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure".

The agency said some people attribute the deterioration in Mr Kim's health to frequent drinking and overeating.

But its source said gout runs in Mr Kim's family, with his grandfather Kim II-sung, his father Kim Jong-il and his elder brother Kim Jong-nam all suffering from the disease.

Chosun Ilbo suggests that he simply might be on holiday, but notes that army politburo head Hwang Pyong-so, Mr Kim's constant shadow on inspection visits, has also disappeared from view.

It is not the first time that the North Korean leader has failed to appear in public for an extended period. In March 2012, he spent 21 days out of the public eye; in June of the same year it was 24 days; and in January 2013 it was 18 days.

Despite the lack of recent footage of Kim Jong-un, he has not entirely disappeared from televisions tuned to Central Television.

Viewers get a daily dose of archive footage of months-old inspection visits along with an enthusiastic voice-over, usually in the hour leading up to the main evening news.

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