North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made the most public appearances in nine years in 2025, as he increased diplomatic engagement and on-site supervision of the implementation of a five-year national development plan, data showed Sunday. Kim's public appearances, as reported by North Korea's state media, totaled 118 as of the end of November, according to data from the Korea Institute for National Unification. Including additional public activities reported by state media between Dec. 1 and 27, the total number rose to 131. This year's total marks a slight increase from last year's 127 and matches the previous high recorded in 2016. According to the institute, Kim's public activities have been steadily rising since hitting a low of 55 in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This year's result came as Kim sought to broaden his diplomatic landscape, including making his multilateral diplomatic debut, and to step up implementation of the country's five-year development plan, which concludes this year. Of this year's public activities till Dec. 27, 30 involved public ceremonies, 23 on-site inspections