North Korea running well under Kim

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak believes North Korea is running "normally" under leader Kim Jong Il despite reports the totalitarian leader suffered a stroke and had brain surgery.
Lee made the remark in an Oct 18 interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro, his office said yesterday, as questions linger over Kim's health despite Pyongyang's denials.
"I don't think there are any changes in North Korea because of Chairman Kim Jong Il's health," Lee said during the interview, referring to the North's leader by his formal title, chairman of the country's powerful National Defence Commission.
North Korea denies Kim's illness missed at least two key national ceremonies recently, and recently released pictures of him inspecting a military unit.