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NKorea's Kim Jong Il meets with Chinese official
By JAESOON CHANG and JEAN H. LEE,Associated Press Writers AP - 27 minutes ago
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea's reclusive leader turned up for talks with a senior Chinese envoy, making his first such appearance in nearly a half year in an apparent bid to show he is fit despite reportedly suffering a stroke last August.
Kim Jong Il met with Communist Party official Wang Jiarui on Friday, toasting the representative from North Korea's main ally and saying his regime stands by its commitment to dismantle its nuclear weapons program, state-run media in both countries said.
Wang is believed to be the first high-level outside official to have face-to-face contact with Kim since the North Korean leader fell out of the public eye amid speculation about his health. Kim appeared thinner but otherwise healthy in photos of the meeting in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital.
"The meeting appears to be aimed at telling Obama that Kim has no problem with his health and is well enough to meet with Obama's envoy," said Kim Yong-hyun, a North Korea expert at Seoul's Dongguk University.
Kim told Wang that Pyongyang is "dedicated to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and hoped to peacefully coexist with all sides and would not like to see tension in the peninsula," China's official Xinhua news agency said.
After test exploding a nuclear bomb in 2006, North Korea signed an accord a few months later with the U.S., China, Japan, South Korea and Russia agreeing to dismantle its nuclear program in exchange for aid and other concessions.
There has been some progress since then, with Pyongyang starting to disable its main nuclear reactor and blowing up a cooling tower. But the process has been stalled since August over a dispute with Washington on another key step: verifying Pyongyang's past nuclear activities.
While campaigning, Obama said he would be open as president to meeting with Kim if it would help advance the nuclear disarmament process _ a stance that appeared to intrigue Pyongyang.
In his first address as president, Obama said Tuesday that he would work "with old friends and former foes" to lessen nuclear threats, a remark that analysts say suggested he might seek direct contact with isolated nations such as North Korea and Iran.
Kim, who turns 67 next month, disappeared from public view last year, sparking concerns about his health when he missed a key North Korean anniversary in September. South Korean and U.S. officials said Kim suffered a stroke but was recovering.
___
Chang reported from Seoul and Lee from Hoengseong, South Korea. Associated Press writers Scott McDonald and Gillian Wong in Beijing contributed to this report.
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