North Korean leader Kim Jong-un apparently resurfaced after a month-and-a-half out of the public eye because he needed to show both his people and the outside world that he still maintains a firm grip on power.

Kim appeared walking with the aid of a stick and rode a golf buggy accompanied by his aides. He did not hide the fact that he has still not recovered fully but showed he is capable of walking.

Still, a government source here said this openness "was unheard of during the rule of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il." The prevailing view is that Kim Jong-un must have sensed internal unrest amid mounting rumors about his condition.

Chung Sung-jang of the Sejong Institute said Kim Jong-un chiefly wanted "to quell rumors that he is brain dead or has been overthrown by a coup."

But other pundits say Kim's appearance with the aid of a cane was a carefully calculated move to bolster public sympathy. State TV did not show any footage of Kim but only a couple of photos showing him leaning on a stick. Instead, it broadcast a documentary of Kim’s grandfather Kim Il-sung with a stick, being helped by an aide as he walked. It is possible that Kim, who has been emulating the hairstyle, fashion and even gait of the nation founder, opted to copy even the walking stick.

Chung Young-tae, a researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification said, "It looks like the aim was to evoke the sympathy of the North Korean public by appearing as a tireless leader who trudges on regardless of his physical condition."