US 'hasn't seen' Kim Jong-un recently, Mike Pompeo

US officials "haven't seen" North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently and are watching reports about his health "closely", US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said.

He also expressed concern that the hermit state could be hit either by the coronavirus outbreak or a famine.

Mr Kim, 36, last appeared in state media on 12 April, triggering speculation that he was seriously ill.

But officials in South Korea later said such reports were not true.

There have also been suggestions that North Korea's "supreme leader" may be staying at the sea resort of Wonsan to protect himself from possible exposure to coronavirus.

The secretive state shut its borders in late January due to the pandemic.

Asked on Wednesday by Fox News to comment on the recent reports on Kim's health, Pompeo said: "We haven't seen him. We don't have any information to report today, we're watching it closely.

"There is a real risk that there will be a famine, a food shortage, inside of North Korea too," he added.

"We're watching each of those things closely, as they have a real impact on our mission set, which to ultimately denuclearise North Korea," the secretary of state said.

In the 1990s, a devastating famine is believed to have killed hundreds of thousands of North Koreans.

On Monday, President Donald Trump said he had a "very good idea" about Kim's condition, but added that "I can't talk about it".

"I just wish him well," he added.

Trump has met Kim three times since 2018 - but the denuclearisation talks have stalled in recent months.