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By Jon Herskovitz

SEOUL, Oct 4 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, thought to have suffered a stroke in August, made his first appearance in about 50 days, the state's media said on Saturday.

Last month, U.S. and South Korean officials said Kim, 66, may have suffered a stroke in August, raising questions about leadership in Asia's only communist dynasty as Pyongyang backed away from an international nuclear disarmament-for-aid deal.

North Korea's official media said Kim saw a soccer match between two universities. The last report of a public appearance by Kim was in mid-August when state media said he visited a military unit.

"After watching the match, leader Kim Jong-il congratulated the players on their good results, saying that the revolutionary and militant students in our country are good at art and sporting activities," the North's KCNA news agency reported.

Kim's reappearance came as the secretive state finished talks with a U.S. nuclear envoy who went to Pyongyang this week trying to save a disarmament deal and prevent the North from restarting its nuclear plant that makes bomb-grade plutonium.

CONSPICUOUS ABSENCE

Kim was conspicuously absent from a military parade on Sept. 9 to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of North Korea. He appeared at ceremonies to mark the 50th and 55th anniversaries of the state founded by his father Kim Il-sung.

Kim Jong-il, known as "Dear Leader", inherited control in 1994 on the death of his father. Kim Jong-il had been groomed for years to take control. He has three known sons, but has not made any apparent moves to name any of them as his successor.

Under Kim's rule, the North's economy shrank and the country suffered a famine in the 1990s that killed about 1 million people in the country of 23 million. The North also conducted its first and only nuclear test in October 2006.

On Thursday, an official newspaper referred to Kim's health for the first time since the reports of his stroke, saying he had a tiring summer inspecting all parts of his country.

"While everyone else in the world is busy vacationing, we saw a flow of news sent into the universe on Kim's endless on-site inspections through a long and rough journey," it said. (Editing by Louise Ireland) (For related factbox, please click on [ID:nSEO4016])

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