Kim Jong-un, the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, reportedly missed a key political event on Friday, extending a month's absence that has fueled speculation about his health.

Kim was not listed by the state KCNA news agency as being among the officials who made the annual pilgrimage to the mausoleum in Pyongyang housing the remains of Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung.

State media in the DPRK made no mention of a traditional midnight visit by the top leader to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, marking the founding of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.