Kim Jong-il Makes An Appearance
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The Kim Jong-il saga continues. Was he sick? Was he in hiding after plastic surgery? Nothing has been confirmed.
From the New York Times:
Kim Jong-il Said to Appear in Public
By CHOE SANG-HUN
Published: October 4, 2008SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who is believed by South Korean and American officials to have suffered a stroke, recently made his first public appearance in more than a month, the North’s state-run news agency reported on Saturday.
Mr. Kim watched a soccer game held to mark the 62nd anniversary of the founding of Kim Il Sung University, the North’s premier institution of higher education named after Mr. Kim’s late father and founding president of the Communist state, the Korean Central News Agency said.
“We are trying to verify the report,” said a spokesman at the South’s National Intelligence Service, who spoke on the customary condition of anonymity.
The university’s anniversary fell on Wednesday, the day the nuclear envoy from the United States, Christopher Hill, arrived in Pyongyang to try to stop North Korea from restarting its nuclear weapons program.
KCNA did not say when and where the game took place, but did say Mr. Kim watched the game with party officials. It was unclear if they were at the stadium or somewhere else watching on television. .
The last time the North Korean media reported a public appearance by Mr. Kim was in mid-August.
After he missed a parade marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of North Korea on Sept. 9, South Korean and American officials said they believed that Mr. Kim had suffered a stroke.
South Korean officials later said Mr. Kim was recovering and was in control of the government. North Korean officials have denied that Mr. Kim was ill.
The North Korean news agency quoted Mr. Kim as saying during the soccer game, “The revolutionary and militant students in our country are good at art and sporting activities while devoting all their wisdom and enthusiasm to the study of science for the country and the people.”
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