| |
SEOUL: Reports of recent provincial visits by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il appear to be true, indicating he is recovering from his stroke last August, a South Korean newspaper said Monday.
Chosun Ilbo quoted US and South Korean intelligence officials as saying Kim's personal armoured train had travelled to those areas which he was reported by state media to have visited.
The newspaper said the agencies, using satellites and spy planes, confirmed that the train began being used when state media reported Kim's visit to the western border city of Sinuiju on November 24.
Within the past week there have been a spate of other reports of official visits, this time in the northern province of Jagang.
"Based on the information we gathered, we think it is highly likely that he actually visited these cities," one intelligence official was quoted as saying.
South Korean and US officials have said Kim suffered a stroke around mid-August. Seoul officials say he is recovering and still in control of his nuclear-armed nation.
Another government source quoted by Chosun Ilbo said evidence suggested that the leader was hospitalised in the elite Ponghwa Hospital after his stroke and discharged between early and mid-October.
South Korean officials refused to confirm the newspaper's report.
The North's media have reported trips to a variety of destinations in recent weeks and published photographs, in an apparent attempt to show that the 66-year-old is active and in control.
Kim's health is the subject of intense interest since he has not publicly nominated a successor and has a history of diabetes and heart disease.
Last week Admiral Timothy Keating, the commander of the US Pacific Command, said Kim was still in charge of North Korea.
- AFP/yb
|
