Photos: Kim Jong-un limps back to public view, with a cane

[caption id="attachment_1759865" align="alignleft" width="940"] North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un resurfaced after an unexplained and prolonged absence that fuelled rampant speculation about his health. There were even rumours of a coup in the nuclear-armed state. AFP[/caption][caption id="attachment_1759867" align="alignleft" width="940"] North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, smiling broadly and supporting himself with a cane, appeared on Tuesday in state media for the first time in nearly six weeks. AFP[/caption][caption id="attachment_1759869" align="alignleft" width="940"] The North Korean leader was inspecting a newly-built housing complex in Pyongyang. The recent absence was, in part, "probably an attention-getting device and it certainly works," Bruce Cumings, an expert on Korea at the University of Chicago, said in an email. AFP[/caption][caption id="attachment_1759871" align="alignleft" width="940"] A report in BBC said that since the leader appeared in still images it still remains to be known whether Kim Jong is having trouble walking. It's also impossible to tell if the stick in the pictures is an aid because of an untreated continuation of the previous ailment, or to help him after surgery. AFP[/caption][caption id="attachment_1759873" align="alignleft" width="940"] There were global speculations that the leader could be suffering from gout or problems in his hip joint. Others even questioned if he remained in control of the state. AFP[/caption][caption id="attachment_1759875" align="alignleft" width="940"] Official media cited unspecified personal "discomfort" as grounds for Kim Jong-un's absence from public view. Speaking to BBC, North Korea's ambassador to London said that the leader was in good health. What the pictures clearly show, though, is that he is at the centre of power. AFP[/caption]