Officials believe North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has recovered enough from a stroke to brush his own teeth but that sporadic spasms forced him to skip his country's 60th anniversary celebrations, reports said Friday. Kim, 66, is lucid and has no trouble speaking, according to a high-level Chinese official who met in recent weeks with the North Korean leader in Pyongyang, the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported, citing an unidentified source in Beijing. But the Chinese official had predicted that Kim would miss Tuesday's anniversary ceremony, the official was quoted as saying. The report did not give further details. Kim is the object of an intense personality cult in the totalitarian nation, and the sight of him with spasms before hundreds of thousands of people would have been an embarrassment for the regime. The South Korean government has confirmed that Kim suffered a stroke but said he is recovering and remains in control of the country. South Korea's National Intelligence Service and the Unification Ministry said they could not comment on the Chosun Ilbo report. South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted an unnamed government official on Friday as saying the government understands Kim has recovered enough to brush his teeth on his own. The spy agency and the Unification Ministry said they were aware of the Yonhap report but could not confirm it.
