North Korean TV airs video of Kim walking with limp

Seoul, Nov 7: North Korean state TV has aired footage of Kim Jong-Un for the first time in more than two months, showing the leader walking without a stick but with a pronounced limp.

The video footage, aired late on Thursday by the North's Chosun Chungang TV, showed Kim on stage at a meeting of military commanders in Pyongyang that took place on Monday and Tuesday.

Following an extended absence from the public eye, Kim re-surfaced with a walking stick in mid-October. His nearly six-week absence triggered a frenzy of speculation about his health and grip on power. In the footage shown yestersday, Kim was seen limping as he walked past a crowd of soldiers for a photo opportunity but avoided showing his legs.

South Korean intelligence agency has said that Kim had surgery on his left ankle

The South Korean intelligence agency has said that Kim had surgery on his left ankle due to complications from a cyst. The video footage was released a day after the North's top newspaper Rodong Sinmun carried still images of Kim walking without a stick at the same meeting.

Before his prolonged absence, state television had shown Kim walking with a limp. Since assuming power after the death of his father Kim Jong-Il in 2011, Kim Jong-Un has cut a very public figure, with state media showing him engaged in a seemingly endless series of trips to military units and factories across the country where he gives what is officially known as "field guidance".

His sudden disappearance, which began in early September, quickly became a source of rumour and speculation. This went into overdrive after he missed two noteworthy political events he would normally have been expected to attend, with some reports even suggested he had been ousted in a coup.

PTI