North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has made only 46 public appearances in 2017, the fewest number of appearances in the first six months of any year since he assumed power in late 2011, data from the NK Leadership Tracker shows.

Data showed that the rate of appearances is down around 34 percent from the first half of 2016, 41 percent on the same period in 2015, 53 percent on 2014, 59 percent on 2013 and 44 percent compared to the first six months of 2012.

The lowest comparable figure is the 44 appearances Kim made in the first half of 2011, prior to him officially taking the mantle of