North Korean leader Kim Jong Un makes TV appearance

Weeks after rumours circulated about his apparent ill-health,

state run television in North Korea on Monday (June 8) aired a video of Kim Jong Un attending a party meeting on the weekend.

Kim did not mention the North's increased criticism of South Korea in recent days.

North Korea has been lashing out at South Korea, threatening to close a Korean liaison office and other projects if the South Korean government didn't stop defectors and activists who have been sending leaflets and other material into the North.

And on Monday the Northern government didn't answer a daily phone call with their Southern counterparts, the first time in two years that has happened.

Instead, state news agency KCNA focused on the party meeting, which revolved mostly around the North's economy, such as its chemical industry and fertilizer production.

The meeting does come at a time of great economic uncertainty for the secretive state.

Kim has made an unusually small number of outings in recent months, with his absence from a major holiday prompting speculation about his condition -- and the state's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.