SEOUL, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Il met with a top Chinese Communist official Friday, the first such visit since reports he had a stroke in August, officials said.
The New York Times reported analysts in Seoul viewed the session in Pyongyang with Wang Jiarui, chief of the Chinese Communist Party's International Department, as an effort to prove Kim, 66, is well enough to govern, make key nuclear weapons decisions and deal with the new U.S. administration of President Barack Obama.
Intelligence officials in Seoul have said Kim also had brain surgery following the stroke, Yonhap News Agency said. North Korea has denied Kim has been ill.
Wang carried a personal letter to Kim from Chinese President Hu Jintao congratulating him on the Lunar New Year's Day, Yonhap reported. The rest of the message was not revealed.
Xinhua, the official Chinese government news agency, said Wang's visit included talks on strengthening economic and trade links.
