The meeting took place just days after the inauguration of US President Barack Obama, which observers said could be a was significant indication that North Korea wants to deal with the new administration.

It also attracted interest because it appeared to clear up speculation over the 66-year-old Kim's ability to meet people and lead the country after the reported stroke.

"Common sense would say that Chairman Kim's health condition seems to be normal as he met with a foreign guest," said Kim Ho-Nyoun, a spokesman for South Korea's Unification Ministry, in Seoul.

Kim met with Wang Jiarui, a senior official with China's ruling Communist Party, Chinese news agency Xinhua said in a brief dispatch.

North Korea's state media had not reported any meetings between Kim and foreign visitors since his illness, raising questions over whether he was fit to run the country or make decisions about its nuclear programme.

The Stalinist nation's media had published dozens of undated photos of him inspecting military installations or factories in an apparent attempt to show he was fit and in control.

But most North Korean newspaper reports of appearances by Kim had also been undated.

Although the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported recently that Kim had visited a power station on January 6, there was no independent confirmation the visit had taken place.

While the South Korean government said Friday's meeting was proof Kim's health problems were over for the time being, some analysts were more circumspect.

"It clears up the mystery of whether he is alive or dead but it doesn't really clear up the questions about what is his underlying state of health," said Brian Bridges, a Korea expert at Hong Kong's Lingnan University.

Kim has at least one stand-in, according to unconfirmed reports, but Bridges said it was unlikely that the person meeting Wang on Friday was not the real leader.

"I think that if the Chinese are reporting it, they must be fairly certain themselves that this is the real Kim Jong-Il," said Bridges.

"I don't think the Chinese would allowed themselves to be fooled by a stand-in, so I think we have to assume that this is the right person."

Wang, the Chinese official, was in North Korea at the start of a year during which the two nations and longtime allies will mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

However, several North Korea-watchers said it was more significant that Wang met Kim so soon after Obama's inauguration.

Paik Hak-Soon of the Sejong Institute, a South Korean think-tank, told Yonhap news agency this week that Wang was expected to deliver a message from Beijing.

The message is "that it is much more optimistic with the Obama administration than Bush's, and that it'd be in North Korea's interest to cooperate in the nuclear negotiations," according to Paik.

China is the host of six-nation talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions, which failed to make any progress in the final stages of George W. Bush's administration.

North Korea may see this period as a crucial window of opportunity to get US concessions, such as diplomatic relations or even a visit by the American president.

"From the North Korean perspective, they need to show that their leader is alive and well and in charge in order to convince the Americans that there is someone they can deal with in a serious way," said Bridges.

"Obama is not going to visit if the Americans don't even know whether Kim Jong-Il is alive or dead."

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