For the North Korean leadership the month of August was largely dominated by inter-Korean tensions and talks which took place during the latter part of the month. The inter-Korean military confrontation and resulting dialogue assumed top priority on the regime leadership’s agenda, to that extent that Kim Jong Un made no appearances after August 18 which were not related to this matter.

August saw a reduction in both the number of publicized appearances by Kim as well as the number of regime elites appearing with him. These low numbers may also be the result of a focused