DHAKA: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has had surgery to remove a cyst from his ankle, according to South Korean intelligence.

A spy agency briefing to lawmakers on Tuesday said that a foreign doctor operated on Kim in September or October, the BBC publishes this report on Wednesday.

Kim recently dropped out of public view for nearly six weeks leading to speculation that he was seriously ill.

He has been seen walking with a stick in recent official photographs.

One such photo, used by North Korean media, showed him using a stick on 14 October as he inspected a new residential district.

Kim had not been seen since September. South Korean intelligence says the cyst could recur because the North Korean leader is a smoker and leads a busy lifestyle.

South Korean politicians were told that foreign medical experts had been flown to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, to remove the cyst from Kim’s left ankle.

The growth which materialised in May was caused by what is known as ‘tarsal tunnel syndrome’ whereby a nerve is pinched, causing the ankle to swell.

An intelligence official said the medical team was from Europe but did not specify which country.

BDST: 1840 HRS, OCT 29, 2014