Beijing  - North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on Friday held his first meeting with a foreign guest since he reportedly suffered a stroke in August by welcoming a top Chinese Communist Party official, China's official Xinhua news agency said.

Kim met with Wang Jiarui, head of the international department of the party's Central Committee, in Pyongyang, Xinhua said, without giving details about the discussion or Kim's health.

South Korean intelligence services reported the 66-year-old leader of the reclusive Stalinist state suffered a stroke in mid-August. He was also believed to have undergone brain surgery.

Kim's repeated absences in the past year from official events fuelled speculation about his health, and after two months of silence following his reported stroke, North Korean officials began publishing pictures of Kim attending public events to prove that he was alive.

Before Wang's visit, there had been no reports of Kim meeting with any visiting foreign dignitaries since August.

Wang travelled Wednesday to Pyongyang at the invitation of North Korea's Workers' Party. (dpa)