Kim Jong-il Reported To Have Pancreatic Cancer

By VOA News 13 July 2009

This screen grab from North Korean television shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il attending a session of the parliament in Pyongyang, 09 Apr 2009

A South Korean television station is reporting Monday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has pancreatic cancer, and that his illness is life-threatening.

YTN television says its report is based on information obtained by South Korean and Chinese intelligence officials. No other details are immediately available.

Mr. Kim's health has been a focus of speculation for the past year after he reportedly suffered a stroke. He disappeared from public last August for several months.

North Korean media outlets have vehemently denied the reports of Mr. Kim's ill health, and published undated photos and video footage of him.

Mr. Kim looked gaunt during a rare public appearance Wednesday, July 8, at a memorial in honor of the 15th anniversary of his father Kim Il Sung's death.

Last month a South Korean newspaper reported that Pyongyang was trying to import expensive medical equipment to treat the leader through intermediaries in China. The report did not specify the disease, but said Kim Jong Il's condition was serious.

The status of Mr. Kim's health raises the issue about his succession in the communist dynasty, and who will control the country's nuclear weapons programs.

Recent media reports said Mr. Kim named his youngest son, 26-year-old Kim Jong Un as his successor. In April he promoted his brother-in-law Jang Song Thaek to the powerful national Defense Commission.

Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.