ROUGH CUT NO REPORTER NARRATION
North Korean leader has apparently reappeared after a lengthy public absence.
Several photos on the website of North Korea's Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed Kim using a cane for support while reportedly visiting a housing development.
The 31-year-old had not appeared in public since attending a concert with his wife on September 3, missing an important political anniversary last Friday.
Speculation that Kim's unusually long absence from public view may be due to ill health was fuelled by a North Korean television report late last month that said he was suffering from discomfort.
Some analysts also suggested that Kim may have been sidelined in a power struggle.
But North Korean officials denied that Kim's public absence was health-related. Officials in both the U.S. and South Korea say there were no indications Kim was in political trouble.
