North Korea's official newspaper said leader Kim Jong Il had been working non-stop in the heat of summer and expressed concern about ``how tired he must be,'' South Korea's Yonhap News reported.

Kim toured workers' sites and military installations every day in July and August, the Rodong Sinmun newspaper said, according to Yonhap. The reclusive leader hasn't been seen in public for several weeks amid speculation he had suffered a stroke.

The Rodong Sinmun report is the first mention of Kim's health in a North Korean newspaper since U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials said last month that he may have had a stroke and was slowly recovering. North Korea's official Korea Central News Agency last noted a public appearance by Kim when it reported on his inspection of the nation's army on Aug. 14.

Kim's failure to appear at the Sept. 9 festivities marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as the nation is formally known, sparked reports that he was ill, which the government denied.