Kim Jong Il was just chillin', watching kickball ...

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Il watched a university soccer game, a state-run news agency said from Pyongyang today, reporting on the leader's first public appearance in nearly two months.

Kim and other political leaders watched the game held to mark the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the university named after his late father, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung, the Korean Central News Agency report said.

The report did not say when or where the game was held. It also did not say whether Kim, 66, who is believed to have suffered a stroke in August, attended the game in person. There was no mention of his health. He hasn't been seen in public since mid-August.

North Korean officials steadfastly deny that Il is ill.

The report said Kim congratulated the two soccer teams from Kim Il Sung University and the Pyongyang University of Railways after the game. He also praised the student athletes: "The revolutionary and militant students in our country are good at art and sporting activities while devoting all their wisdom and enthusiasm to the study of science for the country and the people," KCNA said.