Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader, appears to be still in control of the country despite being widely believed to have suffered a stroke last August, the head of the US Central Intelligence Agency has said.
At a press briefing at CIA headquarters on Wednesday, Leon Panetta told reporters the agency was closely watching the secretive Asian state as it pushed ahead with what are believed to be preparations for a long-range missile test.
"Without getting into classified information, I think certainly the indication is that he continues to be in control of that country," Panetta said, in response to a question on Kim's well-being.
"It's obvious the North Koreans have said that they are in the process of deploying a missile with, I think they've said, a satellite. And obviously it's something we're paying a great deal of attention to because of its implications in terms of the policy that this country has tried to develop with the North Koreans."
'Space programme'
His comments came as South Korean media reports said the North had finished construction of an underground fuelling facility close to a key launch pad on the country's east coast.
North Korea has said it is preparing to launch a satellite and has defended that it says is its right to develop its own space programme.
But its neighbours and US intelligence officials believe the test is actually of a long-range missile, the Taepodong 2, which experts say could reach as far as Alaska or the US west coast.
The technology for rockets used in space flight and for ballistic missiles is largely the same, with the only major difference being the payload – either a satellite or a warhead.
On Wednesday North Korean television reported that Kim had visited the province where the launch site is located.
The report showed what it said were new photos of the North Korean leader inspecting several sites in North Hamkyong province, including a bank office and a cigarette factory.
One photograph even showed Kim apparently smoking a cigarette, six months after he reportedly suffered a stroke.