Kim Jong Il emerges

North Korea’s reclusive leader turned up for talks with a senior Chinese envoy, making his first such appearance in nearly six months in an apparent bid to show he is fit despite reportedly suffering a stroke last summer.

Kim Jong Il met Communist Party official Wang Jiarui, toasting the representative from North Korea’s main ally and saying his regime stood by its commitment to dismantle its nuclear weapons programme, state-run media in both countries said.