North Korean leader Kim Jong-il attended a memorial rally at Pyongyang Indoor Stadium on the 15th anniversary of his father Kim Il-sung's death on Wednesday morning, a recorded video clip by the North Korean Central TV Broadcasting Station shows. It was the first footage showing Kim moving around in three months since the 12th Supreme People's Assembly went into session on April 9.Kim is seen walking with a slight limp but appears to have no trouble getting around, stands up without help and bows his head for a brief silent tribute.
| Then he topples over to his left, gibbers, and screams in pain. The nurses give him a slug of cognac but it never helps ... |
Prof. Cho Kyung-hwan of Korea University Anam Hospital said, "The crooked appearance of the mouth may have something to do with sequelae of paralysis of the left side of his face" as a result of a stroke. "Hair on the crown of the head often thins when a person suffers metabolic disorders like diabetes or kidney trouble."
North Korea has held memorial rallies for Kim Il-sung every five years, and Kim Jong-il has attended all of them. His only sister Kim Kyong-hee, the head of the light industry department of the Workers' Party, also showed up on the leaders' platform.