Reclusive N. Korean Leader Appears With China Envoy

SEOUL, Jan. 23 -- North Korea's reclusive leader met with a senior Chinese envoy for talks Friday, his first such appearance nearly six months after reportedly suffering a stroke in August.

Kim Jong Il met with Communist Party official Wang Jiarui, toasting the representative of North Korea's main ally and saying that he stands by his government's commitment to dismantle its nuclear weapons program, state-run news media in both countries said.

Wang is believed to be the first high-level foreign official to have face-to-face contact with Kim since the North Korean leader withdrew from the public eye amid speculation about his health.

Analysts said the meeting, coming just days after President Obama took office, might have been a way for Kim to show the new U.S. leader that he is ready for further nuclear negotiations. 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 private Dongguk University.

Kim told Wang that Pyongyang is "dedicated to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and hoped to peacefully coexist with all sides," China's official New China News Agency said.

While campaigning, Obama said he would be open as president to meeting with Kim.

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 had suffered a stroke but was recovering.

North Korea has denied he was ill, releasing photos and video showing an active and healthy Kim touring the country.

But South Korean officials said they could not confirm those trips because the photos and video were undated and no live footage of Kim was broadcast on North Korea's state television.