More vigorous Fidel Castro seen with Vietnam's Man

HAVANA, June 3 (Reuters) Fidel Castro appeared more vigorous today in the first images of the Cuban leader to be broadcast on state television in four months, backing up reports that he has put his health crisis behind him.

Castro appeared talking animatedly, standing in a track suit during a meeting yesterday afternoon with Vietnamese Communist Party chief Nong Duc Manh.

He hugged Manh warmly at the end of the two-hour meeting.

Castro, 80, has not appeared in public since emergency bowel surgery forced him to hand over power to his brother Raul Castro 10 months ago.

Castro looked healthier and more alert than in the last video images shown of him in Cuba on Jan. 30 during a visit by his ally Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

''Vietnam is a country that we will never forget,'' he told Manh as he shook his hand.

Manh said Castro spoke lengthily about Cuba's ''energy revolution'' to save electricity, and they discussed the situation in Latin America.

''He was very happy. I was overcome with emotion. He spoke about many things. They were very deep,'' Manh said later at a meeting with Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage.

A senior Cuban official said on Friday that Castro had almost recovered fully from several operations for an undisclosed intestinal condition that put his life at risk last year.

REUTERS RN KP1103