Sticken Kim Jong Il 'able to brush his teeth'

South Korean officials believe North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has recovered enough from a stroke to brush his own teeth but that sporadic spasms forced him to skip his country’s 60th anniversary celebrations.

Mr Kim, 66, is lucid and has no trouble speaking, according to a high-level Chinese official who met in recent weeks with the North Korean leader in Pyongyang, the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported, citing an unidentified source in Beijing.