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North Korean leader Kim Jong-il was seen in public watching a football match between Kim Il Sung University and Pyongyang University of Railways to mark the former's 62nd anniversary, the official North Korean Central News Agency reported Saturday. If the report was true, it was Kim¡¯s first public appearance in 51 days amid rumors that he is recovering from surgery following a debilitating stroke.
The North Korean Central Television Station, the North¡¯s only nationwide TV network, and Radio Pyongyang, repeated the same news on Sunday. However, they did not report when and where he watched the match.
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The headline of the Oct. 5 edition of Rodong Shinmun, the organ of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party, reporting that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il watched a university football match. There is no accompanying picture. /Yonhap
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A South Korean intelligence officer said the report ¡°could be true¡± given that it was reported for both domestic and foreign consumption. But there was no photo or video accompanying the news. A South Korean government official said, "They carried a news report on the activity to publicize his good health at home and abroad, but it seems they didn't carry any pictures to conceal his sickly appearance." But neither the South Korean government nor intelligence authorities seem to believe the report was false.
Some observers speculate that North Korean authorities may have decided to publicize the news report to placate public sentiments for fear of social unrest, considering that rumors about Kim's ill health has been spreading and North Korea's food problem has become worse.
A North Korea expert said Pyongyang probably felt the need to prevent nuclear negotiation partners the U.S. and South Korea from further discussing the possibility of regime collapse. A researcher at a government-funded think tank pointed out that the report came directly after U.S. chief nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill visited the North. ¡°They apparently tried to show that Kim is still in charge of the nuclear issue and the handling of South Korean affairs,¡± he added.
South Korean government officials and experts speculate that it will be possible to confirm whether Kim is well on Friday, the day of the North Korean Workers' Party's anniversary. A South Korean official said, "Rumors about his ill health will intensify if he fails to show up at an event on Friday."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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