North Korean senior official and former nuclear envoy Kim Yong-chol has been pictured with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un following a South Korean media report that he had been purged.

North Korean state media channel Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) reported on Monday that Kim Jong-un was joined by Kim Yong-chol on Sunday to watch a musical performance.

Included in the KCNA report is a photo showing the latter seated in the same row as other senior officials and the North Korean leader in what appears to be a performance hall.

Late last week, the South Korean daily Chosun Ilbo, citing an unnamed source, claimed that Kim Yong-chol had been sentenced to hard labor as part of a massive purge following the collapse of the North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi earlier this year.

[Photo : KBS News]