North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is using both hands freely, according to a Russian musician who met with Kim during a recent visit to Pyongyang, despite reports that his left hand remains paralyzed after a stroke last year.

Oleg Ovsyannikov, who was in the North for a concert celebrating the 61st anniversary of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, told Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun on Tuesday, Kim's "memories and speech were clear" and "he moved both of his hands freely and smoked cigarettes."

A Russian orchestra led by Ovsyannikov performed a joint concert with a North Korean orchestra at the Mansudae Art Theater in Pyongyang on Sept. 8.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il looks through a magnifying glass at the Bukjeong Machinery Complex in North Pyongan Province in this undated photo provided by the (North) Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday. /KCNA-Yonhap

Looking at Ovsyannikov, who is 2 m tall, Kim greeted him with a smile saying "You are very tall indeed." Then Kim introduced the North Korean singers on stage to Ovsyannikov without any trouble, and showed off his good memory by reeling off a list of names of Russian lieder composers.

Kim smoked American-made Marlboro cigarettes, drank tea, and firmly shook hands with him during the conversation. After the concert was over, Kim praised the concert and asked Ovsyannikov what he thought about the North Korean conductor.