A T-shirt with a printed portrait of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been spotted at an official public event in North Korea for the very first time.

According to footage from a defense exhibition released by the North's Korean Central Television on Tuesday, an orchestra conductor in the opening ceremony was seen wearing a white T-shirt showing Kim's face on the front.

This is viewed as unprecedented in the regime where Kim is revered as a supreme and sacrosanct leader.

To have his face drawn on people's clothes could be seen as damaging his authority and is unheard of in the North, while such T-shirts depicting the North Korean leader have been sold overseas.

State media once ran a story about a nine-year-old girl who died trying to salvage former leader Kim Jong-il's portrait from her house which had caught fire.

Some observers say the appearance of a Kim T-shirt could be inspired by the ways of the West or is an attempt to present a more friendly image of the leader.