The detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma, also called Myanmar, said she is being denied medical attention by the Burmese authorities when she met a U.N. envoy over the weekend.

The only Nobel laureate to be held under house arrest, Ms. Suu Kyi, 61, met the U.N. special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, at a government guesthouse.

In the first photo of Ms. Suu Kyi for three years, she appeared gaunt and frail, looking unsmilingly at the camera. She had a gynecological operation in 2003 and suffered stomach troubles in June.

In a statement, the United Nations said: “Miss Suu Kyi conveyed to Mr. Gambari that she is in good health but requires more regular medical visits.” The National League for Democracy leader, whose party won elections by a landslide in 1990 but has never been allowed to take power, has not seen her doctor for more than two months.

The official New Light of Myanmar newspaper said last week that he had been unable to visit her because of political “occasions.”

Mr. Gambari, the U.N. under-secretary-general for political affairs, said last night: “She is reasonably well, considering that she has been in detention for 10 of the last 17 years or so. She is very alert. She has concern not only about her own welfare but the welfare of the people of Myanmar.”

Mr. Gambari, who is Nigerian, also met Burmese junta leader for “frank and very constructive” talks.