North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did not undergo surgery or any other medical procedure, a South Korean official has said amid continued speculation about his health.
North Korea said on Saturday that Mr Kim attended the opening of a fertiliser factory near Pyongyang on Friday, in his first public appearance in about 20 days.
While his reapperance quelled rumours that he might be gravely ill or even have died, some media outlets still raised questions about his health, citing moments when his walking looked a bit stiff at the factory.
But a senior South Korean presidential official told reporters on Sunday that the Government has determined that Mr Kim did not have surgery or any other procedure, according to the presidential Blue House.
When rumours about Mr Kim’s health surfaced in recent weeks, the South Korean Government steadfastly dismissed them as baseless and maintained there were no unusual activities in the North.
But the reassurance came as North Korean troops fired several bullets at a South Korean guard post inside the heavily fortified border between the countries on Sunday.
Multiple gunshots were fired from North Korea at 7.41am local time towards a guard post in South Korea that borders the North, the South's Joint Chiefs of Staffs said in a statement.
South Korea responded by firing two shots towards North Korea and said no injuries were reported.
The Koreas are split along the 155-mile long, 2.5-mile wide border called the Demilitarised Zone that was originally created as a buffer.
In late 2018, the two Koreas began destroying some of their frontline guard posts and removing mines from the DMZ as part of steps to reduce tensions.
But the efforts stalled amid a deadlock in nuclear negotiations between Kim and President Donald Trump meant to convince North Korea to give up its arsenal in exchange for lifting economic sanctions.
Noting Mr Kim's return to the public eye, Mr Trump tweeted on Saturday: “I, for one, am glad to see he is back, and well!”
