Kim Jong Un social distances from colleagues during North Korea meeting

A beaming, maskless Kim Jong Un socially distanced himself Monday during a meeting of the politburo of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party – while everyone else sat close together amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The reclusive strongman — whose whereabouts had been the topic of widespread speculation in recent months — appeared to be the picture of health as he smiled broadly in the circular sitdown.

Kim, wearing a white jacket, was seated at least six feet away from his longtime aides, Choe Ryong Hae and Pak Pong Ju, according to Sky News.

Neither he nor the others in attendance in Pyongyang were wearing face masks amid the pandemic, which went unmentioned during state media reports about the meeting.

Although North Korea says it has no confirmed cases of COVID-19, South Korea’s main intelligence agency has said an outbreak in the country cannot be ruled out, according to Reuters.

Photographs showed the others assembled for the top-level meeting sitting close to each other.

“The meeting discussed in depth some crucial issues arising in further developing the self-sufficient economy of the country and improving the standard of people’s living,” according to official media, Sky News reported.

The business-as-usual images come just weeks after Kim attended the completion of a fertilizer plant, his first appearance after disappearing from public view on April 11 — an absence that led to rumors that he was gravely ill after surgery.

Speculation about his health first emerged after he skipped events commemorating the 108th birthday of his grandfather Kim Il Sung on April 15.

The politburo meeting comes at a time of economic uncertainty during the pandemic, which has increased pressure on the Hermit Kingdom, whose economy has already been pounded by international sanctions aimed at stopping its nuclear program.

Kim did not mention Pyongyang’s increased criticism of South Korea or of the North Korean defectors who call it home, according to Reuters.

The rogue regime has lashed out at Seoul in recent days, threatening to close an inter-Korean liaison office and other projects if the South does not stop defectors from sending leaflets into the North.

Pyongyang did not answer a routine daily liaison phone call Monday morning from South Korean officials for the first time in since 2018, according to South Korea’s Unification Ministry said.

But the North later answered an afternoon call without explaining its earlier unresponsiveness, the ministry added.