ROUGH CUT NO REPORTER NARRATION<br/> <br />North Korean leader has apparently reappeared after a lengthy public absence.<br/> <br />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.<br/> <br />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.<br/> <br />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.<br/> <br />Some analysts also suggested that Kim may have been sidelined in a power struggle.<br/> <br />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.
