An analysis of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's public activities of 2018 shows that Kim had fewer appearances related to the military and more activities in the fields of economy and external affairs.

South Korea's Unification Ministry on Friday unveiled data on Kim's public appearances categorized by the year and month.

Kim appeared in public 98 times last year, of which 41 cases, or over 40 percent, concerned the economy.

Twenty-eight appearances related to external affairs, 15 involved politics and eight were in relation to the military.

From 2012 when he came to power to 2017, the North Korean leader made over 40 military-related public appearances each year, accounting for more than 30 percent of the total.

Unification Ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun said that Kim's activities in the military field sharply fell from 42 times in 2017 to just eight in 2018 while those related to the economy noticeably increased from 26 times in 2017 to 41 last year.