As much of the world crosses out the final days of 2020 on the calendar, countries say goodbye to a year that was anything but easy. The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc around the globe, and yet both North Korea analysts and Kim Jong Un would certainly agree: The DPRK faced a historically hard year between the virus, economic sanctions, several natural disasters and the brunt effects of government policies.

Amid all of these challenges, the North Korean leader ducked out of the public eye. In fact, 2020 was Kim Jong Un’s least active year in terms of public