N. Korean leader has slightly recovered: intelligence chief By Shin Hae-in

SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who reportedly
suffered a stroke last month, has recovered somewhat, South Korea's intelligence
chief was quoted as saying Tuesday.
Seoul has been on high alert recently in anticipation of possible complications
regarding the denuclearization of the communist state.
"He has slightly recovered," National Intelligence Service Director Kim Sung-ho
was quoted as saying by ruling party lawmaker Lee Chul-woo during a parliamentary
session.
Kim refused to comment further on the issue as the South Korean government
remains cautious of irritating the North, which has angrily denied several times
speculations about its leader's bad health.
Pyongyang recently reneged on a six-party aid-for-denuclearization deal,
complaining about Washington's delay in removing it from a list of state sponsors
of terror.
In the deal, signed by the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United
States, Washington had agreed to remove North Korea from the list in exchange for
the North's complete declaration of its nuclear programs. Washington regards the
declaration as incomplete without a rigorous verification mechanism.
Reports of the Stalinist leader's bad health are adding to uncertainties as a
power vacuum could nullify the deal altogether.
The intelligence chief remained low-key on reports that Pyongyang has asked the
International Atomic Energy Agency to remove cameras and seals placed at its main
atomic facilities.
"It is possible, but we cannot be fully sure," he was quoted as saying.
The nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula took a positive turn in June when
Pyongyang provided a list of its nuclear programs and blew up the cooling tower
at its Yongbyon reactor in a symbolic gesture of its commitment to the
denuclearization deal.
But the process hit a snag following a dispute between North Korea and the United
States over how to verify Pyongyang's nuclear programs. North Korea tested a
nuclear device in 2006, triggering concerns throughout the world.
North Korea's high-profile leader has been absent from the public eye since Aug.
14, with foreign doctors reportedly entering the country last month for a medical
operation.
Kim, 66, rose to power after his father and the founder of North Korea, Kim
Il-sung, died in 1994. The junior Kim has reportedly not groomed an heir-apparent
among his three sons.