Kim Jong Un may be paying special attention to the North Korean province of Kangwon, where the regime is building a tourist complex.

Korean Workers' Party paper Rodong Sinmun said in an article promoting the province's economy and production plants, Kangwon "takes priority in the mind of the leader."

In late April, when the North Korean leader went missing for 20 days, satellite images suggested Kim was sheltering in place in Wonsan, where his special train was seen in the city. According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, Kim is believed to have resided in Wonsan for about two years, before his father, Kim Jong Il, suffered from his first known stroke in 2008.

On Monday the Rodong claimed Kangwon Province is at the economic forefront of North Korea's frontal breakthrough.

Kim's field guidance visits in the province have often been highlighted in state media. The Rodong described plants including the Wonsan Shoes Factory, the Songdowon Comprehensive Food Factory and the Kangwondo Doyang Tree Nursery "in the past eight years" as examples of "monumental construction" that have "sprung up like shoots after the April showers" under Kim's rule.

State media added the North Korean leader has not held back his financial support for the construction of a general hospital in the province, as well for institutions designed "to improve the people's livelihoods."

North Korean state media's promotion of Kangwon Province comes at a time when Pyongyang may be monitoring events in the South on the 40th anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising, a pro-democracy movement that led to the slaughter of hundreds, according to South Korean estimates.

North Korean propaganda service Uriminzokkiri said Monday the actions of South Korean military authorities and then President Chun Doo-hwan was "evil."

Pyongyang's media also compared the military's response to that of "Germany's Nazis" on Monday.

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