Heir unapparent: If North Korea faces succession, who might replace Kim?

FILE PHOTO: Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un attends a wreath-laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam March 2, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/Pool/File Photo

(Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance in three weeks, state media reported on Saturday, after an unexplained absence fuelled questions about who would take over the nuclear-armed state in the event of his death.

Pyongyang has never announced who would lead the country were Kim to be incapacitated, and with no details known about his young children, analysts say his sister and loyalists could form a regency until a successor is ready to take over.