Kim jong-un smokes cigarette while touring hospital Mr Kim reportedly "asked questions in detail to see [that] they were thoroughly sterilised and dust-free," according to a report in the Pyongyang Times, cited by North Korean news. He added that hospitals should be "neat and splendid." The latest picture of Mr Kim comes amid reports North Korea has been placed under martial law with the leader telling his troops to "be ready for a war." While it has been anticipated that Pyongyang will go ahead with what will be the regime's third nuclear test, in spite of international pressure to refrain from doing so, analysts had predicted that the blast would be timed to coincide with the birthday on February 16 of Kim Jong-il, the former leader who died in late 2011, or the inauguration of the new government in South Korea nine days later. The reports now suggest that the demonstration of North Korea's nuclear prowess is more imminent.