North Korean leader Kim Jong-il inspected a fish farm and related facilities to give on-site guidance to workers, a media report said Friday.

   The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim toured the gravity-fed river fish farm and hatchery, and expressed satisfaction at the large fish being raised.

   The media report said Kim called for the way the model farm raised its fish to be copied by others in the country.

    The communist country has had trouble feeding its people after foreign aid was cut off or restricted aid after Pyongyang detonated two nuclear devices and carried out other military actions against South Korea in recent years.

   The KCNA gave no other details, including the location of the fish farm or when the visit took place.

   The latest media coverage of the reclusive North Korean leader comes after rumors circulated in South Korea's stock market on Tuesday that Kim had died. The unfounded rumor disrupted the market, and affected trading for a short period of time.

(Yonhap News)