North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is seen still dragging his left leg in footage from Japan's TBS TV on Monday, an apparent result of a stroke in 2008. He was seen dragging his left leg on his way through the lobby toward the front door of the Furama Hotel in Dalian, China. His left hand also seemed nearly immobile and his entire body supported by his right leg.
Kim reportedly had a stroke in August 2008. He appeared on the leadership platform during a session of the Supreme People's Assembly in April last year with a pronounced limp.
"It seems that he's suffering the physiological sequelae of cerebral hemorrhage or cerebral infarction in the right brain. This is why he can't move his left arm and left leg freely," a doctor said. "The fact that he can't use his left arm and left leg freely even though a year and a half have passed since he had the stroke suggests that the sequelae have reached a level where it's difficult to recover."
Meanwhile, photos show that Kim has also lost a lot of hair. Experts speculate that may be age-related or point to kidney trouble as some dialysis patients lose much of their hair.
