Kim Jong-un photographed after ‘five of his critics were executed’

The North Korean leader was photographed visiting the country’s North Hwanghae province last week for the second time since late August.

Five employees of the Ministry of Economy were shot by firing squad on July 30 after details of their conversations emerged at a dinner party and were reported to their bosses, according to DailyNK.

His visit was to see how the recovery and reconstruction work was going, state media reported.

The first time he visited the province last month, he arrived in a luxury van to order the delivery of supplies and basic food.

Many rumors have circulated about the health of North Korean leaders this year.

The North Korean leader was thought to be dead, in poor health or in a coma.

His sister Kim Yo Jong was also rumored to take over due to Kim’s alleged inability to rule.

Rumors spread about the legitimacy of these photos in August, and some people believed they were Photoshopped.

However, North Korean analyst Michael Madden recently told the NY Post that “Kim is definitely not dead.”

More than 900 houses were destroyed or flooded due to recent flooding and rice fields were soaked after monsoon rains broke a levee in the area.

It is said that he was satisfied with the reconstruction progress monitored by the North Korean troops.

Kim called the repair work “a miracle that only the service personnel of the Korean People’s Army can create,” the NY Post reported.

Hwanghae province has been hit by three typhoons in recent weeks and is the main rice-producing region in the country.

Kim mobilized soldiers to help lead the recovery efforts and said the army should see it as political work to maintain “blood ties” between the party and the people, the report added.

According to DailyNK, five employees of the Ministry of Economy were shot by firing squad on July 30 after details of their conversations emerged at a dinner party and were reported to their bosses.

They reportedly discussed the need for industrial reform in the militarized nation-state that produces few consumer goods for its impoverished citizens.

They are also said to have discussed the need for North Korea to seek foreign cooperation to help overcome devastating trade sanctions.

They were reported to have expressed fear that the stagnant economy would get even worse if improvements were not made quickly.

They were reportedly summoned to a meeting, after which they were detained by the secret police and forced to confess that they were attacking the regime.

The reported executions have worried Communist Party officials who fear a return to the purges that hit the country after the death of former Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il in 2011.