As the rumour mill speculates about Supreme Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un's health-- who is either "dead" or "critically ill", reports coming out of North Korea seems to suggest otherwise. According to the Korean Central News Agency, the North Korean leader on Friday cut a ribbon to inaugurate a fertiliser factory.

According to the news agency, the North Korean leader was seen at the event with several senior North Korean officials, including his sister Kim Yo Jong. The state media also released images of the Supreme leader cutting a ribbon outside the factory.

#WATCH North Korea's Kim Jong Un makes first public appearance in 20 days, at the completion of a fertilisers plant in Pyongyang pic.twitter.com/1OY8W8ORD7

— ANI (@ANI) May 2, 2020

He was reportedly at a ceremony for the inauguration of a plant, in the north of 'Pyongyang'. According to the state media, the crowd burst into "burst into thunderous cheers of 'hurrah!" when Kim Jong-un graced the event with his presence.

The state news agency also added that Kim was satisfied with the factory's production system, and lauded the country's chemical industry and food production for its contribution towards the progress of the country.

His appearance in front of the state media would be the first since April 12. However, the North Korean report could not be confirmed by independent journalists.

World media has been rife with reports suggesting the North Korean leader's ill health after undergoing a cardiovascular procedure at a hospital on April 12.

CNN had reported that Kim was in "grave danger", citing unnamed US officials who reportedly told the publication that "the concerns about Kim's health are credible but the severity is hard to assess."

However, soon after this, the South Korean government's Unification Ministry and National Intelligence Service said that it was looking into US media reports and later stated that the Supreme Leader in the North was not "gravely ill".

A report by a Seoul-based publication, Daily NK, citing unidentified sources inside North Korea, also stated that Kim Jong-un is now recovering at a villa in the Mount Kumgang resort county of Hyangsan on the east coast.

Several South Korean media reports also corroborated that the speculations over Kim's supposed "grave health" conditions were fueled by the fact that the North Korean leader was absent from a key anniversary event earlier this month.

Speculation has been rife about what happened to Kim since he apparently skipped an annual visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the occasion of the 108th birthday of his late grandfather and state founder Kim Il-sung on April 15.

Kim was last seen on April 12 in state media reports presiding over a political bureau meeting of the ruling Workers` Party, calling for "strict national countermeasures to thoroughly check the infiltration of the virus".