Nikkei jumps 3 pct on softer yen, N.Korea report

(Adds detail, stocks)

By Aiko Hayashi

TOKYO, May 29 (Reuters) - The Nikkei stock average rose 3 percent on Thursday, led by high-tech exporters as the yen softened and further boosted by an unsubstantiated report that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il may be dead.

As of 0348 GMT, the Nikkei .N225 added 411.30 points to 14,120.74 after falling 1.3 percent the previous day.

The benchmark Nikkei was up nearly 2 percent when talk about the Kim Jong-il report began to spread, a trader and a fund manager said. [ID:nT218156]

The broader Topix index advanced 2.3 percent to 1,380.11.