ID :
19120
Fri, 09/12/2008 - 11:27
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/19120
The shortlink copeid
'N. Korean Leader Recovering from Surgery after Stroke'
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Amid widespread international speculation over whether North Korea's leader has fallen ill, South Korean intelligence officials said on Sept. 10 that Kim Jong-il has undergone surgery after suffering from a stroke but is recovering.
There has yet to be any official confirmation from the reclusive state as to
Kim's health condition. North Korean officials earlier denied reports about Kim's
illness, calling such claims a "conspiracy." The 66-year-old leader is
known to have diabetes and heart problems.
"North Korean leader Kim Jong-il suffered a stroke but is quickly
recovering," a lawmaker quoted South Korea's intelligence agency as saying
in a report to the National Assembly Intelligence Committee. The legislator
dismissed rumors that Kim may no longer be able to rule.
North Korea's state media has not reported a public appearance by Kim since Aug.
14, and the leader was notably absent from a parade on Sept. 9 commemorating
North Korea's 60th founding anniversary, escalating rumors he may be seriously
ill.
"Kim suffered either a stroke or a cerebral hemorrhage but is recovering,
the intelligence agency said. Pyongyang is not in a state of administrative
vacuum," Won Hye-young, the floor leader of South Korea's main opposition
Democratic Party, told reporters after attending the closed-door parliamentary
session. "Although Kim is not fit enough for outside activity, he is
conscious and able to control affairs," Won added.
Other lawmakers who attended the session, where the chief of Seoul's National
Intelligence Service briefed the parliament, backed Won's remarks. "Kim was
planning to attend the founding ceremony in the afternoon, but was unable to make
it due to the aftereffects," an unnamed lawmaker quoted an intelligence
official as saying.
This year, North Korea made the rare choice of skipping morning celebration
activities for its founding ceremony, which usually feature thousands of
goose-stepping troops and missile launchers parading through its capital with
their high-profile leader looking on.
The annual September celebration has long been considered a means to virtually
monitor the health of the 66-year-old North Korean leader and the son of the
country's founding father, Kim Il-sung, who died of a heart attack in 1994.
Seoul has been on maximum alert, trying to verify Kim's condition while
maintaining a low-key attitude on the official level. President Lee Myung-bak
convened an unscheduled meeting with his senior secretaries in the early morning
of Sept. 10, discussing countermeasures to any emergent situation in Pyongyang.
Later in the day, President Lee called an emergency security meeting.
South Korean military authorities said there were no signs of unusual movement by
the North Korean military and that the South is keeping a close watch.
The reports about Kim came as North Korea, which tested a nuclear device in 2006,
has recently retreated from a six-nation denuclearization deal by threatening to
restart its nuclear reactor. The deal -- struck with South Korea, the United
States, China, Japan and Russia -- promises to remove the North from the U.S.
list of terrorism sponsors, but Pyongyang claims Washington has failed to honor
its side of the pledge.
The latest flurry of rumors surrounding Kim's health was sparked after footage
from the North's Korean Central TV Broadcasting Station obtained in Seoul
confirmed Kim's absence from the North's military parade for the 60th founding
anniversary in Pyongyang on Sept. 9. Kim had attended the parade on the 50th and
55th anniversaries.
North Korea was expected to hold its largest-ever military parade and a rally of
about 1 million Pyongyang citizens in the capital city in celebration of the 60th
anniversary. Instead, the celebration was scaled back, with only the civilian
army troops, called the Worker-Peasant Red Guard, and Pyongyang citizens
participating. The North's military forces did not participate in the parade.
Reports have surfaced of Western and Chinese doctors flying into the socialist
state. "A French medical team is believed to have entered the North via
China, apparently in relation to his worsened health condition," a North
Korea expert in Seoul said. In May last year, a group of German medical experts
reportedly visited the North and performed bypass surgery on the leader's heart.
Denying mounting international speculation on Kim's health, however, North
Korea's No. 2 leader, President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly
Kim Yong-nam -- who attended the parade along with other senior North Korean
officials including Jo Myong-rok, first-vice chairman of the National Defense
Commission (NDC) -- was quoted as telling reporters in Pyongyang that there is no
problem with the North Korean leader's health.
He claimed such speculation is part of a conspiracy, Kyodo News reported.
"There are no problems" with the health of the North Korean leader,
Kyodo quoted Kim Yong-nam as saying in Pyongyang. "While we wanted to
celebrate the 60th anniversary of the country with General Secretary Kim Jong-il,
we celebrated on our own," he said.
His remarks came after Song Il-ho, North Korea's diplomat on normalizing ties
with Japan, dismissed the media speculation "as not only worthless, but a
conspiracy plot."
Meanwhile, President Lee instructed his Cabinet to be fully prepared for an
abrupt change in North Korea's political situation after being briefed during an
emergency late-night meeting with security-related ministers.
Earlier in the day, Unification Minister Kim Ha-joong said in a parliamentary
committee meeting that nothing has been confirmed accurately except that the
North Korean leader was absent from the Sept. 9 parade event.
"Foreign media have made various reports recently on Chairman Kim's health
problems, and the (South Korean) government and major nations are trying to
confirm them," the minister said using the North Korean leader's official
title. "It is such a sensitive issue that I cannot talk about it without
confirmation of the facts."
Speculation about Kim's health surfaced as Kim's last public appearance was Aug.
14, when he was reported to have inspected a military unit on an unspecified
date.
Kim has led North Korea since his father and the country's founder, Kim Il-sung,
died of a heart attack in 1994. Kim chairs the National Defense Commission,
defined by the country's 1998 Constitution as the highest post of state. The
commission also oversees North Korea's 1.1-million-strong military, the world's
fifth-largest and the backbone of the socialist regime.
There has yet to be any official confirmation from the reclusive state as to
Kim's health condition. North Korean officials earlier denied reports about Kim's
illness, calling such claims a "conspiracy." The 66-year-old leader is
known to have diabetes and heart problems.
"North Korean leader Kim Jong-il suffered a stroke but is quickly
recovering," a lawmaker quoted South Korea's intelligence agency as saying
in a report to the National Assembly Intelligence Committee. The legislator
dismissed rumors that Kim may no longer be able to rule.
North Korea's state media has not reported a public appearance by Kim since Aug.
14, and the leader was notably absent from a parade on Sept. 9 commemorating
North Korea's 60th founding anniversary, escalating rumors he may be seriously
ill.
"Kim suffered either a stroke or a cerebral hemorrhage but is recovering,
the intelligence agency said. Pyongyang is not in a state of administrative
vacuum," Won Hye-young, the floor leader of South Korea's main opposition
Democratic Party, told reporters after attending the closed-door parliamentary
session. "Although Kim is not fit enough for outside activity, he is
conscious and able to control affairs," Won added.
Other lawmakers who attended the session, where the chief of Seoul's National
Intelligence Service briefed the parliament, backed Won's remarks. "Kim was
planning to attend the founding ceremony in the afternoon, but was unable to make
it due to the aftereffects," an unnamed lawmaker quoted an intelligence
official as saying.
This year, North Korea made the rare choice of skipping morning celebration
activities for its founding ceremony, which usually feature thousands of
goose-stepping troops and missile launchers parading through its capital with
their high-profile leader looking on.
The annual September celebration has long been considered a means to virtually
monitor the health of the 66-year-old North Korean leader and the son of the
country's founding father, Kim Il-sung, who died of a heart attack in 1994.
Seoul has been on maximum alert, trying to verify Kim's condition while
maintaining a low-key attitude on the official level. President Lee Myung-bak
convened an unscheduled meeting with his senior secretaries in the early morning
of Sept. 10, discussing countermeasures to any emergent situation in Pyongyang.
Later in the day, President Lee called an emergency security meeting.
South Korean military authorities said there were no signs of unusual movement by
the North Korean military and that the South is keeping a close watch.
The reports about Kim came as North Korea, which tested a nuclear device in 2006,
has recently retreated from a six-nation denuclearization deal by threatening to
restart its nuclear reactor. The deal -- struck with South Korea, the United
States, China, Japan and Russia -- promises to remove the North from the U.S.
list of terrorism sponsors, but Pyongyang claims Washington has failed to honor
its side of the pledge.
The latest flurry of rumors surrounding Kim's health was sparked after footage
from the North's Korean Central TV Broadcasting Station obtained in Seoul
confirmed Kim's absence from the North's military parade for the 60th founding
anniversary in Pyongyang on Sept. 9. Kim had attended the parade on the 50th and
55th anniversaries.
North Korea was expected to hold its largest-ever military parade and a rally of
about 1 million Pyongyang citizens in the capital city in celebration of the 60th
anniversary. Instead, the celebration was scaled back, with only the civilian
army troops, called the Worker-Peasant Red Guard, and Pyongyang citizens
participating. The North's military forces did not participate in the parade.
Reports have surfaced of Western and Chinese doctors flying into the socialist
state. "A French medical team is believed to have entered the North via
China, apparently in relation to his worsened health condition," a North
Korea expert in Seoul said. In May last year, a group of German medical experts
reportedly visited the North and performed bypass surgery on the leader's heart.
Denying mounting international speculation on Kim's health, however, North
Korea's No. 2 leader, President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly
Kim Yong-nam -- who attended the parade along with other senior North Korean
officials including Jo Myong-rok, first-vice chairman of the National Defense
Commission (NDC) -- was quoted as telling reporters in Pyongyang that there is no
problem with the North Korean leader's health.
He claimed such speculation is part of a conspiracy, Kyodo News reported.
"There are no problems" with the health of the North Korean leader,
Kyodo quoted Kim Yong-nam as saying in Pyongyang. "While we wanted to
celebrate the 60th anniversary of the country with General Secretary Kim Jong-il,
we celebrated on our own," he said.
His remarks came after Song Il-ho, North Korea's diplomat on normalizing ties
with Japan, dismissed the media speculation "as not only worthless, but a
conspiracy plot."
Meanwhile, President Lee instructed his Cabinet to be fully prepared for an
abrupt change in North Korea's political situation after being briefed during an
emergency late-night meeting with security-related ministers.
Earlier in the day, Unification Minister Kim Ha-joong said in a parliamentary
committee meeting that nothing has been confirmed accurately except that the
North Korean leader was absent from the Sept. 9 parade event.
"Foreign media have made various reports recently on Chairman Kim's health
problems, and the (South Korean) government and major nations are trying to
confirm them," the minister said using the North Korean leader's official
title. "It is such a sensitive issue that I cannot talk about it without
confirmation of the facts."
Speculation about Kim's health surfaced as Kim's last public appearance was Aug.
14, when he was reported to have inspected a military unit on an unspecified
date.
Kim has led North Korea since his father and the country's founder, Kim Il-sung,
died of a heart attack in 1994. Kim chairs the National Defense Commission,
defined by the country's 1998 Constitution as the highest post of state. The
commission also oversees North Korea's 1.1-million-strong military, the world's
fifth-largest and the backbone of the socialist regime.
