North Korean state news normally includes a heavy focus on Kim Jong Un’s daily activities, so when the supreme leader abruptly ceased public duties in September it sparked immediate speculation about the reason.

Even China’s People’s Daily tweeted a remark about a major North Korean meeting with “no mention of [Mr Kim’s] whereabouts”, while the internet thronged with rumours about a possible coup.

Mr Kim’s return to the spotlight after five weeks, limping and using a cane, appeared to vindicate more sober suggestions that he had simply been receiving medical treatment, perhaps for an ankle injury. But the vivid rumours around his absence reflect the continuing opacity of North Korea’s governing system, and the signs of tension at its highest level.