N. Korean leader Kim Jong-il seen in public: report

SEOUL, Oct. 4 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has visited a stadium to see a soccer game, the first public appearance since Aug. 14, the communist state's news agency reported Saturday.

The 66-year-old Kim appeared at a college soccer match, according to the (North)
Korean Central News Agency.
Kim suffered a stroke in mid-August and underwent brain surgery which forced him
to miss a key national event last month marking the 60th founding anniversary of
the communist country.
Kim's absence prompted rampant speculation in the world on the leader's health.
South Korea's main intelligence agency and a key presidential aide had said that
Kim has recovered well enough to brush his teeth on his own and to stand with
some assistance.
He has been out of the public view for more than a month, his last appearance
being on Aug. 14 when he reportedly inspected a North Korean military unit.
The outside world, including South Korea, has been keenly interested in Kim's
health due to his country's nuclear ambitions.
In a 2007 aid-for-denuclearization deal with the United States, South Korea,
China, Japan and Russia, North Korea began disabling its Yongbyon nuclear complex
late last year in anticipation of one million tons of fuel aid.
But North Korea has recently been backtracking from the deal, blaming the United
States for breaking its promise by not removing the North from a terrorist
blacklist, despite Pyongyang's nuclear declaration and the blowing up of a
cooling tower at Yongbyon in June.