--- description: Kim Jong Un's absence from an important parliament meeting fuels speculation about health problems title: Where Is Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un? image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f70707e0b7ae95b/6986a588e8524bf196604ebb/kim_jong_un_missing.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # No One Has Seen North Korea's Kim Jong Un in Three Weeks by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 26, 2014 8:11 AM CUT  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the Supreme People's Assembly in Pyongyang, in this still image taken from video released by Kyodo on April 9, 2014 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the Supreme People's Assembly in Pyongyang, in this still image taken from video released by Kyodo on April 9, 2014Kyodo/Reuters by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 26, 2014 8:11 AM CUT What has happened to Kim Jong Un? That’s the question everyone seems to be asking, amid all kinds of rumors following the North Korean dictator’s uncharacteristic three-week absence from the public eye. Kim was last seen alongside his wife Ri Sol Ju at a concert in Pyongyang on Sept. 3, and several news outlets are speculating that the 31-year-old may be ill. The rumors intensified on Thursday with the North Korean leader’s [absence](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/25/us-northkorea-parliament-idUSKCN0HK1L520140925 "undefined") from an important parliament meeting. Reuters reported that state-television broadcast images of his empty chair at the Supreme People’s Assembly, the country’s highest sovereign body, the first such powwow he has missed since coming to power three years ago. The _Wall Street_ _Journal_ [speculated](http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2014/09/26/does-kim-jong-un-have-gout/ "undefined") on Friday that Kim might be suffering from gout, a disease caused primarily by an excessive intake of meat, sugar and alcohol. A South Korean official told the _Journal_ that gout runs in the tyrannical clan, starting with Kim’s grandfather Kim Il Sung, who died in 1994 at age 82\. Kim also suffers from obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes, he added. Such rumors have been fueled by reports that North Korean television showed the country’s Supreme Leader walking with a pronounced limp back in July. Another theory about his condition, [according](https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/25119447/south-korean-officials-steer-clear-of-kim-health-rumours/ "undefined") to Agence France-Presse_,_ is that he picked up an injury while providing “guidance” to North Korean athletes competing in the Asian Games, currently in progress at Incheon, South Korea. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3432195/north-korea-missing-kim-jong-un/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3432195/north-korea-missing-kim-jong-un/"},"headline":"No One Has Seen North Korea's Kim Jong Un in Three Weeks","datePublished":"2014-09-26T08:11:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:25:55.802Z","description":"Kim Jong Un's absence from an important parliamentary meeting fuels speculation about health problems","url":"https://time.com/3432195/north-korea-missing-kim-jong-un/","keywords":["North Korea","Kim Jong Un","kim jong il","illness"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f70707e0b7ae95b/6986a588e8524bf196604ebb/kim_jong_un_missing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f70707e0b7ae95b/6986a588e8524bf196604ebb/kim_jong_un_missing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the Supreme People's Assembly in Pyongyang","caption":"North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the Supreme People's Assembly in Pyongyang","creditText":"Kyodo/Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3432195/north-korea-missing-kim-jong-un/","name":"No One Has Seen North Korea's Kim Jong Un in Three Weeks"}}]}] ```