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(5th LD) N.K. media release photos of leader Kim watching soccer match
By Shim Sun-ah
SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's state media on Sunday released still photos of leader Kim Jong-il watching a soccer match in an apparent bid to dispel rampant speculation over the condition of his health.
The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a photo of Kim smiling at something on a sofa in what appears to be the VIP box of a football stadium, while another photo showed the football field.
The release was made hours after the KCNA reported that Kim watched a game between two army teams named Mangyongbong and Jebi together with army soldiers.
The Korean Central TV aired 14 photos of Kim watching the match and giving instruction to officials accompanying him.
However, when and where the photos were taken was not mentioned.
Seoul officials said they are analyzing the photos to determine if Kim is healthy enough to attend a soccer match.
"The government is carefully watching Kim's activities," a government official said, requesting anonymity. "An analysis is underway in terms of when and where the pictures unveiled today were taken," he said, adding that at a quick glance, the pictures appear to have been taken in late October.
The still photos showed Kim wearing dark sunglasses, a thick, brown autumn jacket and full hair, despite intelligence reports that Kim underwent brain surgery after having a stroke in mid-August.
One photo, however, showed him sitting on a sofa with his apparently feeble left hand on his knee, a suggestion that he has not fully recovered from the stroke, if he had one. Another photo showed him standing with the thumb of his left hand hooked on a pocket of the jacket while pointing to something with a finger of his right hand before officials.
Autumn leaves on the trees around the stadium showed the season in the photos.
Television reports carried no video footage.
The KCNA report said the match was held "in connection with the close of the 11th People's Sports Contest," a national athletic meet reportedly held for about a month until Oct. 31.
The photos are the second set released by the North, apparently to show the leader is doing well after reportedly suffering a stroke in mid-August.
North Korea's state media previously distributed photos of Kim inspecting a women's military unit in a frontline area on Oct. 11. However, Seoul officials said the foliage shown in the photos suggests they could have been taken before Kim reportedly fell ill.
On Oct. 4, the KCNA reported that Kim watched a soccer match between North Korean university teams, but did not release any photos of him.
Experts say the latest photos of Kim look real, unlike the Oct. 11 photos.
"The photo of him sitting indoors prompts no specific speculation since the foliage seen over the window tells the season and he looks natural, too," Park Sang-hoon, a professor of photojournalism at Seoul's Chung-Ang University, told Yonhap News Agency.
Medical doctors suggested he may be still suffering from partial paralysis after having a stroke.
"He looks to have a paralysis on the left side of his body, if he can move only the right hand as seen in the photos," said Kim Yeong-in, a neurologist at Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital. "If he is well enough to go out, he would probably have no problem with walking, as well as consciousness and thinking."
Kim, 66, has not been seen in public since Aug. 14, when he reportedly inspected a military unit in North Korea. His conspicuous absence from recent state events, including a parade marking the 60th anniversary of the nation's founding, has fanned speculation about his health.
Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso said last week that Kim was probably hospitalized, but still capable of making decisions about his hard-line communist state.
Kim Sung-ho, the head of South Korea's National Intelligence Service, said on Tuesday the North Korean leader has yet to fully recover, but is now well enough to perform his daily duties.
The North Korean leader's health has been the subject of keen attention since he has not publicly nominated any successor, and is widely believed to suffer from diabetes and heart disease. He officially took power after his father, state founder Kim Il-sung, died of a heart attack in 1997.
North Korea experts say Pyongyang's release of the latest photos of the leader is aimed at preventing internal tension that may be caused by the leader's absence, as well as showing the outside world that he is well enough to directly lead the country's diplomacy with the United States and other foreign countries.
"Kim Jong-il's illness can lead to a policy of ignoring North Korea by the U.S. government, awaiting the North's collapse," said Kim Seong-bae, an expert at Seoul's Institute for National Security Strategy. Pyongyang is sending a signal through Kim's public appearance that it is ready for any aggressive negotiations with the next U.S. government, he said.
According to Sunday's KCNA report, Kim congratulated the footballers of the "Mangyongbong" team on their 3-1 success in the match.
"He said that the servicepersons of the Korean People's Army (KPA), standard-bearers and members of the shock brigade in implementing the Songun (military-first) politics, are a model in sporting activities, too," the report said.
"He noted that to develop sports is of very weighty importance not only in successfully pushing forward the revolutionary struggle and construction to augment the might of the country, but in boosting the friendly relations with various countries of the world," it added.
Kim was accompanied by ranking military and communist party officials such as Hyun Chol-hae, Ri Myong-su and Kim Myong-guk, all army generals, as well as Jang Song-taek, director of the party's administration department, among others, according to the KCNA report.
sshim@yna.co.kr
(END)
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