North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who has been mysteriously missing from the public eye for almost a month, was hospitalized in mid-September for surgery on both of his ankles, a South Korean newspaper reported.
"I heard that Kim Jong Un injured his right ankle in June after pushing ahead with on-site visits and ended up fracturing both ankles because he left the injury unattended," a source was quoted as saying in The Chosun Ilbo.
An intelligence official told the paper that Kim is overweight, and his injuries may have been caused during a lengthy tour of North Korean military installations while he was wearing Cuban heels.
The North Korean leader reportedly underwent surgery at Bonghwa Clinic in Pyongyang, which is reserved for high-ranking officials in the country, and remains there in recovery.
Kim has not been seen in public in almost a month and missed a Sept. 25 parliament session, the first he has failed to attended since coming into power three years ago.
Speculation about the North Korean leader has been swirling since Kim has been out of the public eye, including the possibility that he has gout, has been drinking and smoking too heavily, and even that a coup has taken place in the country.