North Korea ? North Korea’s Kim Jong Il had brain surgery after a stroke last month and could have partial paralysis on one side, media reports said Thursday, after the South Korean government said the communist leader remained in control of his country.

Foreign doctors, possibly from China and France, performed the operation after Kim, 66, collapsed about Aug. 15, the newspapers Dong-a Ilbo and JoongAng Ilbo reported, citing unidentified government officials.

Kim’s condition has improved and he is not suffering from slurred speech, a disability often associated with a stroke, the reports said.

However, he has suffered from sporadic spasms, according to South Korea’s largest newspaper, Chosun Ilbo, citing a high-level Chinese official.