North Korea’s reclusive, authoritarian leader appears to be recovering from a stroke and in command of the communist country, the chief of South Korea’s spy agency says. But Japan’s prime minister says Kim Jong Il likely is issuing his orders from a hospital bed.

South Korean and U.S. officials say the 66-year-old leader suffered a stroke and underwent brain surgery, reportedly in August, but North Korea denies there is anything wrong with the man who is the subject of a cult of personality in the North.

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso told lawmakers in Tokyo that his government had information that Kim is probably in the hospital.

“His condition is not so good. However, I don’t think he is totally incapable of making decisions,” Aso said Tuesday.

The head of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, Kim Sung-ho, told lawmakers the North Korean leader is “not physically perfect” but appears to have recovered enough to run the country without difficulty.

Meanwhile, North Korea’s military issued a blistering warning to the South to stop its “confrontational” campaign to discredit Kim and the Stalinist nation, and threatened to reduce its rival to rubble.