N. Korea media reports 1st public appearance by leader in 51 days

BEIJING, Oct. 4 Kyodo - North Korean leader Kim Jong Il attended a soccer match between university students, the country's official media reported on Saturday, ending his longest stretch of absence from public view that began on Aug. 14.

The report by the Korean Central News Agency comes at a time when foreign
intelligence officials have said the leader is recovering from a major health
setback.
Kim ''enjoyed a student football match on the occasion of the 62nd anniversary
of Kim Il Sung University,'' the KCNA report said, referring to a university
named after Kim's father, North Korea's founder.
''After watching the match, leader Kim Jong Il congratulated the players on
their good results,'' it said.
Those who watched the game included other officials of the Workers' Party of
Korea including Ri Jae Il, first vice department director, the report said,
without mentioning the time or the exact place where the soccer match was held.
There had been no reports by North Korea's state-run media about the leader's
activities in public for 50 days, the longest for him to be out of the public
eye since he became head of the ruling party in 1997.
The latest absence has been the source of speculation that he had suffered a
health problem.
That view intensified after he stayed away from a military parade held Sept. 9
to mark the 60th anniversary of the country's foundation, despite having
attended such parades for the 50th and 55th anniversaries.
South Korean officials have said he is recovering from a stroke, but North
Korea has repeatedly denied that there were problems with its leader's health.
Although the North Korean leader had remained out of public view, he had been
reported by KCNA during the 50 days as having sent messages to foreign leaders.
The most recent example of that was on Tuesday, to Chinese leaders for the
country's national day on Wednesday.