But the latest images — though undated — gave no indication Kim had been ill, let alone offered any sign of the alleged operation. His bouffant-hair remained as puffy as before, and their was no change in his pot belly. He also appeared in the images to have no problem walking and using both his arms.

Brain surgery usually involves shaving off of at least some hair and results in some body paralysis in many cases.

“Looking at his hands, arms and facial appearances in the still pictures, he doesn’t appear to have had any problems,” said Myoung C Lee, a neurologist at Seoul’s Asan Medical Center. “It’s doubtful if they were taken recently, but it’s all guesswork.”

But the oddest thing about the photos to some were the verdant grass and trees visible in the background: They were too green to believe the pictures were taken recently, considering it’s autumn on the Korean peninsula. Foliage in South Korea has begun showing the tinge of fall, with yellowing leaves mixed with those still green. North Korea is latitudinally farther north than South Korea and autumn arrives faster.Newspapers in Seoul had similar observations. “Grass and trees in the photos show the typical sight of a summer landscape, though it is time that autumn leaves are visible in North Korea,” the daily Kukmin Ilbo said .

The paper also said South Korean intelligence had seen no unusual movements where the military unit Kim reportedly visited is located, which would have been expected had he visited.

... contd.