North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made several public appearances in state media this week. On Saturday, he presided over the second meeting of the ninth Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), which replaced the defense minister and reshuffled senior military officers. He conferred awards the same day to scientists who made contributions to the country’s defense. State media also reported that he attended a national conference of teachers on Wednesday, where he emphasized education as the most important state affair. 

While Seoul’s spy agency assessed this week that a summit