U.S. commander believes N. Korea's Kim is in control

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (R) visits the Jagang Provincial Library, north of North Korean capital Pyongyang in this undated picture released by KCNA December 17, 2008. KCNA did not state expressly the date when the picture was taken.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top U.S. military commander said on Thursday he thinks North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who U.S. and South Korean officials believe had a stroke earlier this year, is still in control of the country.

"I think he's relatively in control of his faculties ... and he remains in control of the North Korean government," said Navy Adm. Timothy Keating, who commands U.S. forces in Asia and the Pacific.

But the admiral told reporters at a briefing that he did not know details of Kim's condition.

U.S. and South Korean officials have said Kim, 66, suffered a stroke in August, raising questions about leadership in Asia's only communist dynasty and about who was making decisions about the North's nuclear program.

Despite reemerging in early October in official media reports and being seen in undated photographs, there has been no definite and up-to-date image that showed the reclusive leader in good health.

In the latest series of photographs released by KCNA news agency, Kim is seen inspecting a library in the northern Jagang province and looking at a computer monitor displaying an electronic copy of the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper dated December 16.

Public appearances by Kim, as well as his health, are held in such secrecy that their exact location and the timing are almost never disclosed, even after the event.

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by David Storey)