Kim Jung Un is ill, North Korean press agency says

PYONGYANG, North Korea, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, seen limping in his most recent public appearance, is suffering "discomfort," the North Korean state media reported Friday.

Kim, 31, has not been seen in public since Sept. 3.. He has been walking with a pronounced limp since July, and in a pre-recorded television broadcast, seen Thursday on state television, he had difficulty walking.

Also on Thursday, he was absent from the Supreme People's Assembly, a prominent meeting he has attended since assuming power in 2011. A seat on the stage was noticeably empty.

"We expected to see him at the Supreme People's Assembly, because he had attended that session every time, so we are speculating that he might have problems in his health," said Yoo Ho-Yeol, professor of North Korean Studies at Seoul's Korea University.

Kim's recent weight gain has been noticed, and while he may recover completely from what will be regarded a trivial illness, little information is forthcoming from North Korea, a country its government intentionally shrouds in secrecy.

KCNA, the state-run news agency, notes Kim's public appearances; there were 24 in July, 16 in August and only one thus far in September.