Pyongyang denies Kim's illness: former aide to Lee

By Yoo Cheong-mo
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- Choo Boo-kil, a former public information secretary to
President Lee Myung-bak, said Monday that he had heard nothing unusual about the
health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il during his visit to North Korea last
week.
""North Korean officials I contacted in Pyongyang vehemently denied any media
speculation about Kim's health problems," said Choo, who now heads a Seoul-based
private historical foundation after leaving the presidential office in June.
Choo said he visited North Korea Oct. 14-19 in his capacity as chief of the
private foundation, rather than as a presidential envoy, to discuss closer
inter-Korean cooperation in historical and cultural areas.
"North Korean officials accused extremists in South Korea of fanning false rumors
on the North Korean leader's illness," Choo told a news conference in Seoul.
"Private sector dialogue should be much more enlivened in order to eliminate a
stalemate in the inter-Korean relations and I'm ready to play such a role."
South Korean and U.S. intelligence officials said the 66-year-old Kim underwent
surgery after suffering a stroke in mid-August and is now recovering. Amid the
mounting international speculation about Kim's health, some Japanese newspapers
reported over the weekend that North Korea was planning an "important"
announcement, possibly regarding Kim's health, this week.