N.Korean premier inspects various units to boost production

North Korean premier Kim Jae-ryong has visited various units in the country in recent days to boost production, according to a state-media report.

Kim, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, visited South Hwanghae province and urged local workers to revitalize production, Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday citing the KCNA as saying in the report.

When inspecting the Jangsong youth single-stage water pumping station and waterway for desalting Lake Kangryong, the premier stressed the need to ensure a full supply of equipment and materials to step up the project and protect its embankment by planting trees of good species, KCNA said, without specifying the date of the inspection.

This development comes as North Korean media outlets have remained quiet on leader Kim Jong-un's whereabouts without putting out any reports on his public activity amid persisting speculation over his health.

Speculation about his health problems spiked after a CNN report earlier this week, citing a US official, said that Washington was looking into intelligence that Kim Jong-un was in "grave danger" after a surgery, reports Yonhap News Agency.

But South Korea downplayed the report, saying that it had seen no unusual signs with regard to Kim's health.

Kim Jong-un was last seen in state media on April 11 presiding over a political bureau meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, calling for strict measures against the coronavirus pandemic.

But his absence from a key ceremony commemorating the 108th birth anniversary of Kim Il-sung on April 15 sparked speculation over his health.

He has never skipped his trip to the mausoleum since taking office in late 2011.