Report: Kim Jong Un makes his first public appearance in North Korea in 6 weeks

North Korean state media is reporting that Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance in six weeks early Tuesday, visiting the Natural Energy Institute of the State Academy of Sciences and a residential district, where he "gave field guidance."

The Korean Central News Agency says that Kim went to the sites with senior officials, including vice marshal Hwang Pyong So. Reuters was not able to independently verify the report, and Bloomberg says that photos of Kim were published in the Workers' Party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, which showed him walking with the help of a cane.

Kim had not been seen in public since Sept. 3, when he went to a concert with his wife. If this visit is confirmed, it ends Kim's longest period spent out of the public eye since succeeding his late father in 2011.

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