(4th LD) N.K. media release photos of leader Kim watching soccer match

(ATTN: UPDATES with quotes by photo, medical, N Korea experts in paras 13-17, 20,
23-24)
By Shim Sun-ah
SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's state media on Sunday released still
photos of leader Kim Jong-il watching a soccer match in an apparent bid to dispel
rampant speculation over the condition of his health.
The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a photo of Kim
smiling at something on a sofa in what appears to be the VIP box of a football
stadium, while another photo showed the football field.
The release was made hours after the KCNA reported that Kim watched a game
between two army teams named Mangyongbong and Jebi together with army soldiers.
The Korean Central TV aired 14 photos of Kim watching the match and giving
instruction to officials accompanying him.
However, when and where the photos were taken was not mentioned.
The still photos showed Kim wearing dark sunglasses, a brown-colored thick autumn
jacket and full hair, despite intelligence reports that Kim underwent brain
surgery after having a stroke in mid-August.
One photo, however, showed him sitting on a sofa with his apparently feeble left
hand on his knee, a suggestion that he has not fully recovered from the stroke,
if he had one. Another photo showed him standing with the thumb of his left hand
hooked on a pocket of the jacket while pointing to something with a finger of his
right hand before officials.
Autumn leaves on the trees around the stadium showed the season in the photos.
Television reports carried no video footage.
The KCNA report said the match was held "in connection with the close of the 11th
People's Sports Contest," a national athletic meet reportedly held for about a
month until Oct. 31.
The photos are the second set released by the North, apparently to show the
leader is doing well after reportedly suffering a stroke in mid-August.
North Korea's state media previously distributed photos of Kim inspecting a
women's military unit in a frontline area on Oct. 11. However, Seoul officials
said the foliage shown in the photos suggests they could have been taken before
Kim reportedly fell ill.
On Oct. 4, the KCNA reported that Kim watched a soccer match between North Korean
university teams, but did not release any photos of him.
Experts say the latest photos of Kim look real, unlike the Oct. 11 photos.
"The photo of him sitting indoors prompts no specific speculation since the
foliage seen over the window tells the season and he looks natural, too," Park
Sang-hoon, a professor of photojournalism at Seoul's Chung-Ang University, told
Yonhap News Agency.
Medical doctors suggested he may be still suffering from partial paralysis after
having a stroke.
"He looks to have a paralysis on the left side of his body, if he can move only
the right hand as seen in the photos," said Kim Yeong-in, a neurologist at
Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital. "If he is well enough to go out, he would probably
have no problem with walking, as well as consciousness and thinking."
Kim, 66, has not been seen in public since Aug. 14, when he reportedly inspected
a military unit in North Korea. His conspicuous absence from recent state events,
including a parade marking the 60th anniversary of the nation's founding, has
fanned speculation about his health.
Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso said last week that Kim was probably
hospitalized, but still capable of making decisions about his hard-line communist
state.
Kim Sung-ho, the head of South Korea's National Intelligence Service, said on
Tuesday the North Korean leader has yet to fully recover, but is now well enough
to perform his daily duties.
The North Korean leader's health has been the subject of keen attention since he
has not publicly nominated any successor, and is widely 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.
North Korea experts say Pyongyang's release of the latest photos of the leader is
aimed at preventing internal tension that may be caused by the leader's absence,
as well as showing the outside world that he is well enough to directly lead the
country's diplomacy with the United States and other foreign countries.
"Kim Jong-il's illness can lead to a policy of ignoring North Korea by the U.S.
government, awaiting the North's collapse," said Kim Seong-bae, an expert at
Seoul's Institute for National Security Strategy. Pyongyang is sending a signal
through Kim's public appearance that it is ready for any aggressive negotiations
with the next U.S. government, he said.
According to Sunday's KCNA report, Kim congratulated the footballers of the
"Mangyongbong" team on their 3-1 success in the match.
"He said that the servicepersons of the Korean People's Army (KPA),
standard-bearers and members of the shock brigade in implementing the Songun
(military-first) politics, are a model in sporting activities, too," the report
said.
"He noted that to develop sports is of very weighty importance not only in
successfully pushing forward the revolutionary struggle and construction to
augment the might of the country, but in boosting the friendly relations with
various countries of the world," it added.
Kim was accompanied by ranking military and communist party officials such as
Hyun Chol-hae, Ri Myong-su and Kim Myong-guk, all army generals, as well as Jang
Song-taek, director of the party's administration department, among others,
according to the KCNA report.
sshim@yna.co.kr
(END)