North Korean leader Kim Jong-il reportedly told a visiting Chinese official last month that, for the time being, his country is carefully watching steps taken by Washington while it waits for the Barack Obama administration to set its North Korean policies.

Chinese diplomatic sources said Thursday that Kim made the statement when he met with the head of the international department of China’s Communist Party, Wang Jiarui, in Pyongyang last month.

Meanwhile, other sources said that given Kim’s behavior and appearance when he met with Wang, he is likely to be suffering the aftereffects of a stroke.

Wang visited Pyongyang for four days starting January 21st. He met with Kim on the 23rd.