海角大神

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un鈥檚 non-appearance for more than a month has fueled a wave of speculation, with international media citing everything from a coup to gout as possible explanations for his absence.

With rumors still swirling, foreign officials and observers are waiting to see if Mr. Kim shows up at the 69th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers鈥� Party on Friday.

Kim has celebrated the anniversary for the last two years by visiting the Pyongyang mausoleum where his father and grandfather鈥檚 bodies are interred, Reuters reports. Kim replaced his father Kim Jong-il in December 2011.聽

The current leader, who is normally a ubiquitous presence in North Korea鈥檚 state media, has not been seen in public since Sept. 3. Before that he had been seen walking with a limp, the Associated Press reported.

While unusual for Kim to be out of sight for so long, he鈥檚 not the first North Korean leader to do so. His father and grandfather also disappeared for weeks on end.聽

鈥淜im Jong-un鈥檚 disappearing act over the past month, in the North Korean context, is not an aberration,鈥� Lee Sung-yoon, a North Korea expert at Tufts University in Medford, Mass., told the New York Times. 鈥淪uch vanishing acts would be most unusual in democracies, but in totalitarian North Korea, Kim is the state. He is free to come and go as he pleases.鈥澛�

North Korea isn't the only secretive dictatorship that sets off the global rumor mill when its leaders suddenly go missing.聽China has a long history of top officials disappearing聽for various lengths of time with little or no explanation, the Los Angeles Times reported in 2012.聽

In the case of North Korea, the febrile speculation 鈥� Britain's Daily Mail is running a live counter 鈥� is abetted by the fact that the outside world knows almost nothing about North Korean politics. Hence headlines like聽鈥淜im Jong-un: has the North Korean dynasty fallen?鈥� and 鈥淚s Kim Jong Un鈥檚 sister Kim Yo Jong in charge?鈥�

North Korean officials have done little to quell such speculation. They have denied that he had health problems. Naturally this led North Korea watchers to conclude that聽the young, inexperienced leader had been overthrown by political rivals in Pyongyang.聽

A North Korean TV report last month said Kim was suffering from 鈥渄iscomfort,鈥� leading some to speculate that he had gout. An unnamed source with access to North Korea's leadership told Reuters that the ruler was聽recovering from a leg injury聽he suffered about a month ago.聽

United States and South Korean officials have rejected such a scenario. They contend that the likely explanation is indeed health-related, the New York Times reports.

Paul French, an opinion writer for Reuters, points out that 鈥渨e鈥檝e been here before鈥� when it comes to rumors of a coup in North Korea:

And the list goes on.

The rumor-fueled intrigue surrounding Kim鈥檚 disappearance means all eyes will be on North Korea Friday. But whether or not the leader makes an appearance remains anyone鈥檚 guess. And even if he does, the North Korea watchers will probably discover more clues to be deciphered in the global guessing game. 聽