Kim Jong-un gets his skates on

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un posing with children as he visits the open air ice skating rink in Pyongyang (Getty Images)

The North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shows an unaccustomed informality – in contrast to his father's practice of posing at mass rallies – as he is photographed with a group of children during a visit to an ice rink in Pyongyang.

He even took to the ice himself, left, with his cohort of officials in tow, showing perhaps a new willingness to get closer to his people. The images were released by the official Korean Central News Agency today.