Briana KoenemanA high-ranking North Korean diplomat was reportedly spotted out in public just two days after a South Korean newspaper said he'd been banished.
North Korean state media identified Kim Yong Chol as one of several officials who attended an art performance with leader Kim Jong-un Sunday.
Last week, South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported Kim Yong Chol had been banished and sentenced to hard labor after a failed summit between Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this year. The paper also said the North's special envoy to the U.S. and multiple other officials were executed by firing squad.
Neither South Korea's government nor the U.S. was able to confirm the claims. And some analysts were skeptical because reports like these often turn out to be wrong.
Kim and President Trump's Vietnam summit ended on a sour note when they couldn't come to an agreement on denuclearization. The failed meeting was widely considered an embarrassment for Kim.
Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.
