The game of absence… where did the North Korean leader disappear?

Every few months, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un disappears abruptly, fuzzy, and prompting worried speculation about the purpose of this game of absence.

Questions ranged from: Sick or dead? Is he planning to dominate the world or just having a holiday?, the Times said the truth had just emerged about his recent absence, stating that he had spent the time helping design wine bottles, cargo ships, uniforms, and review plans for new tourism development.

The newspaper said that the evidence was contained in photographs published by government-owned media of a new industrial design exhibition for Korean artists, from buses to corporate logos.

Kim applies his family’s work ethic to industrial design and graphic design, and according to news site NKnews, which analyzed photos from Pyongyang’s National Gallery of Industrial Arts, Kim is credited with spending at least 25 days reviewing 110 designs, most of them linked to two new tourist areas under construction in the north.

No doubt he has also used his time away from the limelight in losing weight. Photos published last June, after his absence for several weeks, showed that the North Korean leader – believed to be 37 years old and officially weighing around 140 kilograms – looked pale.