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SEOUL - North Korea reported Sunday that its leader Kim Jong-Il has made another public appearance in an apparent attempt to quell continuing rumours over his health.
The North's official Korean Central News Agency said Kim and his deputies had enjoyed a military art performance.
"He warmly waved back to the enthusiastically cheering performers and congratulated them on their successful presentation," KCNA said, failing to state when and where the performance took place.
After he failed to attend a September 9 parade marking the country's 60th anniversary, South Korean and US officials said Kim had suffered a stroke around mid-August but was recovering well.
Last week the Tokyo Broadcasting System, citing an unnamed US intelligence source, reported that Kim, 66, suffered a second stroke in late October.
South Korean officials could not confirm the report.
Kim's health is the subject of intense speculation because he has not publicly nominated a successor -- as his father had done more than 20 years before his death in 1994 -- to run the impoverished, nuclear-armed state.
North Korean state media have recently issued a series of still photos of Kim in public, in an apparent attempt to end the swirling speculation about his health.
But they have all been undated, stoking even more rumours.
One of the photos, issued early this month, had been digitally altered to superimpose Kim's image onto a military group, experts said.
South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak said last week he believes the North Korean leader has no problem governing.
"Chairman Kim is able to handle state affairs, and I understand (he has) no problem in running the country," Lee told an interview with local media.
Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso also said earlier this month that Kim was probably in hospital but still capable of making decisions.
Some Seoul officials and North Korea experts say Jang Song-Taek, Kim's brother-in-law, has become more powerful since Kim fell sick, with some believing he is effectively standing in for the supreme leader.
Jang, 62, is said to be in charge of the security and police agencies, including the dreaded secret police. - AFP/vm
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