BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on Friday met a senior Chinese official who is visiting Pyongyang, China's Xinhua news agency said, in Kim's first reported meeting with a foreign dignitary since he had a suspected stroke in August.
It said Kim met Wang Jiarui, the head of the Chinese Communist Party's international liaison department. Wang has met Kim several times in the past.
The brief report on Xinhua did not give any details of Kim's state of health.
There had been no reported meetings with foreign visitors since Kim's suspected illness. Analysts say such a meeting would offer evidence Kim was well enough to run Asia's only communist dynasty and make decisions about its nuclear arms programme.
North Korea's state media has issued numerous reports in recent months saying Kim has visited army units, factories and farms. But there has been no proof to show when the visits took place.
In the photos released by North Korea, Kim has been enveloped in padded coats, ski gloves and dark sunglasses.
Xinhua also released a picture of Wang meeting North Korean Premier Kim Yong-il on Thursday.
(Writing by Jon Herskovitz and Lucy Hornby, Editing by Dean Yates and Nick Macfie)
