Ammon News - By Al Arabiya

Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Azizi appeared on television on Wednesday for the first time since undergoing a back surgery on Nov. 17.

In pictures broadcast on state television, the monarch, who is in his late 80s, looked in good health as he was shown receiving members of the royal family in Riyadh.

On Monday, Crown Prince Salman assured cabinet members over the health of the king, state news agency SPA reported.

The king had a similar operation in October 2011. In November 2010, he was operated on in New York for a slipped disc complicated by a blood clot that put pressure on his spine, and he underwent a further operation the following month before convalescing for a month in Morocco.

King Abdullah has introduced cautious economic and social reforms in the conservative Islamic kingdom aimed at reconciling Saudi Arabia’s religious traditions with the needs of a modern economy and youthful population.

The heir to the throne is his half-brother Crown Prince Salman, 76, who was named to the succession on the death of Prince Nayef in June.