North Korea strongman Kim Jong-il admits to fatigue

Seoul, Apr.18 (ANI): Reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has confessed that he feels fatigue from his tough schedule, the communist state's official media said on Friday.

"A man is not made of iron and must take care of his own body. But I have no time to do so," the ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun quoted Kim, long regarded as the country's benefactor, as saying.

Kim, 67, is widely believed to have suffered a stroke last August.

South Korean officials have said that he made a good recovery, but the once-portly leader appears gaunt and much older and thinner in recent photos.

Nevertheless, according to The Telegraph, he has more than tripled his public appearances this year.

"Why wouldn't I be tired and need more sleep? Even though I'm tired, I endure it. What drives me to keep going despite the fatigue and distress? Because I deeply feel responsible for the fate of our homeland, our people." State media quoted him, as saying.

The Rodong Sinmun depicted him as tough but tender in a report two days after the North's April 5 rocket launch. (ANI)