Kim Jong Un returns

North Koreans awoke to images of their beloved leader, Kim Jong Un, making a dramatic public appearance after vanishing without a trace more than a month ago.

The photographs show the North Korean leader out and about on an otherwise banal tour of a newly-constructed public building, the Wisong Scientists Residential District. According to the Associated Press, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) which published those images said Kim "took necessary steps with loving care" while on that tour.

KCNA - it must be said - is a mouthpiece for the Central Committee, infamous for publishing false information and occasionally photoshopping images. Since the agency is the only source for the photos, it is virtually impossible to vouch for their authenticity.

While KCNA may have distributed the photos this week, it failed to mention the exact timing of Kim's visit. So when was it? Before his recent disappearance, or after? Also, the "Dear Leader's" health isn't addressed. Prior to the photo update, the last news released on Kim from the agency was that he had "suffered discomfort."

After weeks of speculation on the North Korean leader's whereabouts and state of health, the photographs may have put some of those rumors - or at least the more bizarre ones - to sleep.

The cheesiest theories

Kim was last seen in public on September 3 at a concert in Pyongyang. Early this month, rumors about his possible whereabouts and state of health began to appear online.

In late September, Kim was absent from a parliamentary session, and the country's official news agency added fuel to the fire by saying the leader was unwell and had been "suffering discomfort." And on October 10, the North Korean leader was nowhere to be seen at the anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party.

Had he died?

Had he been thrown into one of the country's infamous gulags?

A second, far less serious allegation was connected to a long-running Internet joke that had taken on a life of its own. Based on real news stories, it connected the leader's illness - and potential death - to his weakness for a single dairy product.

Those rumors have a real source, reported on primarily in the British press, that Kim Jung Un is a fan of cheese. In fact, North Korea sent a team to France this year to learn the art of cheese production from the experts themselves.

While the new photographs will likely take the steam out of some of the cheesy theories circulating online, they will likely not stop rumors from swirling around North Korea's dictator, whose personal and public life is intentionally shrouded in mystery.

Many just seem to find in him a rich fount of comedy, whether politically or privately.