By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had a stroke but is now better, a French doctor who last treated him said Thursday.
Paris-based neurosurgeon Francois-Xavier Roux told French newspaper Le Figaro that the secretive leader, however, did not undergo surgery.
Kim was said to have suffered two strokes in August and October as he disappeared from public view. The Stalinist state has denied his alleged bad health.
``Kim Jong-il suffered a stroke but did not undergo an operation. He is now better,'' said the doctor who visited Pyongyang in late October.
Yet, he refused to give details due to what he called medical confidentiality and state secrecy.
Another French doctor confessed to the Le Figaro that he performed a heart operation for Kim's father Kim Il-sung, founder of North Korea, in 1991 without knowing who the patient was.
In regards with photos of Kim Jong-il which North Korea recently released, Roux cautiously speculated that they do not seem fake.
``The photos published seem recent and authentic to me. I have the impression that he is in charge in North Korea,'' the neurosurgeon said.
North Korea's state-media last Tuesday showed undated photos of Kim visiting a zoo in his trademark jumpsuit and sunglasses.
Late Thursday, North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Kim had visited a chicken farm and a folk village in Sariwon, south of Pyongyang, for an on-site inspection. It also did not provide an exact date of the visit.
The North's ``Dear Leader'' failed to make a public appearance at a parade on Sept. 9 marking the 60th anniversary of the North Korean government, which prompted speculations and reports on his health condition.
He had not been seen in the public eye for nearly 80 days, the second longest seclusion after the death of his father, who was called ``Great Leader,'' in 1994.
In an apparent attempt to put an end to the controversy on Kim's alleged sickness, the communist state has released dozens of photos of him watching a football match and inspecting military units.
Some pictures released on Oct. 4 were, however, suspected of being fake as analysis pointed to incongruities around the leader's legs and mismatched pixels.
Seoul's Ministry of Unification in charge of inter-Korean affairs has refrained from confirming Kim's condition, saying it is inappropriate to comment about the health of a head of state.
Inter-Korean relations have soured since conservative President Lee Myung-bak took office last February with a vow to toughen Seoul's stance toward the Stalinist North.
The two Koreas technically still remain at war since the Korean War (1950-53) ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.