Eyes on leader as DPRK prepares for anniversary

As the ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea prepares to mark its 69th anniversary on Friday, the world will be watching to see if DPRK top leader Kim Jong-un will make his first public appearance in more than a month.

Kim was last seen in public attending a concert of the Moranbong Band on Sept 3. Before that, he had been shown walking with a limp.

Kim's absence would not in itself be all that important or unusual - such anniversaries are generally given more weight when they are landmark years, though he attended the celebrations marking the founding anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea in the last two years.

He was absent from a gathering this week to mark the 17th anniversary of the election of then-leader Kim Jong-il as WPK general secretary.

Kim Jong-il often appeared in state media at party events or factory visits on the Oct 10 anniversary, newspaper archives show.

DPRK officials have denied that Kim Jong-un's public absence since early September is health-related, but a report on Korean Central Television late last month said that he was suffering from "discomfort".

This is not the first time Kim Jong-un has been missing from public view. In June 2012, six months after coming to power, DPRK media failed to report on or photograph him for 23 days. He reappeared the next month at a dolphinarium.

He was absent from a Sept 25 meeting of the Supreme People's Assembly, the nation's parliament, the first he has not attended since coming to power three years ago.

However, Kim Jong-un's name continues to appear in the DPRK media.

Thursday's edition of Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the WPK, carried three letters to Kim Jong-un from overseas allies on its front page, and has reported on returning athletes from the Asian Games who thanked him for his support during the event.

Reuters - AP

(China Daily 10/10/2014 page11)