North Korea Chief Walks Without Cane SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea's state-run news media on Wednesday showed the country's leader, Kim Jong-un, walking without a cane, indicating that he had recovered enough to move about without assistance after what South Korean intelligence officials called an operation on his left foot. Mr. Kim had disappeared from the public eye for six weeks, leading to rumors that he might be ill or had even been deposed in a coup, until the North Korean media reported his reappearance on Oct. 14. Since then, Mr. Kim had always been seen walking with a cane. Last week, South Korea's National Intelligence Service told lawmakers in Seoul that Mr. Kim was recovering from foot surgery. On Wednesday, North Korean media showed Mr. Kim, believed to be about 30, walking without a cane for the first time since his return to public view while reporting his attendance at a two-day gathering of battalion commanders and political officers of the North Korean People's Army that was held in Pyongyang on Monday and Tuesday. In the meeting, Mr. Kim stressed the military's need to bolster its battle readiness. The gathering of battalion-level commanders and political officers was the first since 2006.