N. Korean leader visits farms, folk village

(ATTN: RECASTS lead; UPDATES throughout with KCNA photos of Kim, more of French report)
SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's state media on Friday released
photographs of the country's leader visiting farms and a folk village in a
provincial city south of Pyongyang, following up with earlier reports.

The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released three photos of Kim
Jong-il inspecting a remodeled chicken factory, a cooperative farm and a folk
village in Sariwon, North Hwanghae Province, but did not specify when they were
taken.
Kim looked healthy in the photos, and wore a light gray parka, thick gloves and a
brown fur hat.
The Korean Central Broadcasting Station, the North's state-run radio station,
indicated the visits were made on Wednesday, saying Kim sent a letter with his
signature and a date to workers at one of the farms he visited.
Kim was replying to a letter that the farmers sent on Nov. 25 asking him to visit
them again as he did two years ago, according to the broadcaster.
Thursday's report of the reclusive leader's public appearance is the first in
nine days since the KCNA reported on Dec. 2, without specifying a date, that he
paid a visit to a Pyongyang zoo.
It also marked the second inspection of economic facilities by the leader since
he reportedly suffered a stroke in August. Last month, the KCNA reported that Kim
visited machine and cosmetics factories in the western border city of Sinuiju
without giving an exact date for the visit.
South Korean and U.S. intelligence officials have said the 66-year-old Kim is
recovering after undergoing brain surgery. North Korea has vehemently denied
reports of Kim's illness and released photos of him through state media
inspecting military units and factories, as well as attending a sporting event,
apparently to show he is active and remains in control of the state.
The photos, however, were not effective in quelling speculation on Kim's health,
with some claiming they might have been taken before Kim had a stroke or may have
been fabricated to show the leader is well.
A French doctor who reportedly treated Kim in Pyongyang told the French newspaper
Le Figaro on Thursday that Kim did in fact suffer a stroke but did not undergo
surgery as was widely suspected, and that he is now in better condition.
"I have the impression that he is in charge in North Korea," the French
neurosurgeon Francois-Xavier Roux was quoted as saying.
"The photos that have just been published seem recent and authentic to me. I
can't say more because of medical confidentiality and state secrecy," he added.
Roux visited Pyongyang in the end of October, according to the newspaper.
Kim's health has been the subject of keen attention as he has not publicly
nominated a successor and is 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.
During the latest on-site tour, Kim asked farmers and officials to "provide the
people with more chickens and eggs" and "bring about an epochal turn in
agricultural production" during the visit, according to Thursday's KCNA report.
A number of Pyongyang officials accompanying Kim on his visit, including Choe
Ryong-hae, chief secretary of the Workers' Party chapter in North Hwanghae
Province, Pak Nam-gi, department director of the party, Ri Jae-il, first vice
department director of the party, and army generals Hyon Chol-hae and Ri
Myong-su.
sshim@yna.co.kr
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