State TV broadcast 25 minutes of footage from the Supreme People's Assembly meeting Wednesday and showed Kim sitting suspiciously still for several seconds after turning a few pages of documents on top of his desk. His head drooped -- and the camera suddenly panned away to the audience.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was caught on camera taking a nap in a meeting of the rubberstamp parliament where he was named chairman of a new organ called the Commission on State Affairs.

A source said there are widespread rumors that Kim enjoys drinking into the small hours, so perhaps he was sleeping it off.

Kim boasted to his father's former sushi chef, Kenji Fujimoto, in May that he has drunk 10 bottles of Bordeaux in one night.

Other North Korean officials caught snoozing in important meetings risk their lives. Hyon Yong-chol, the armed forces minister, was executed in public on charges of disobedience after he was caught dozing off in a meeting in April last year presided over by Kim, according to the National Intelligence Service.

And the execution of Kim's uncle and former eminence grise Jang Song-taek was precipitated by his failure to applaud his nephew with sufficient zeal while lounging in a chair.

