U.S. analyzing Kim Jong-il's photos to prove reported health failure

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (Yonhap) -- The United States said Friday it is analyzing recently released photos of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il for clues to his health.

"I assume, our people are taking a look at those photos and analyzing them,"
State Department spokesman Robert Wood said in a daily news briefing. "I've seen
the same photos that you've seen. I don't have any way of verifying ... what the
condition is of his health."
North Korean media have sought to quell suspicions over Kim's health over the
past few days by releasing photos of Kim attending an artistic performance and a
soccer game between soldiers and inspecting military units.
They, however, failed to reveal when and where the photos were taken, spawning
allegations that the pictures might have been doctored.
Kim had been absent from public view for nearly two months, since Aug. 14,
triggering speculation that he suffered a stroke and underwent brain surgery.
In early October, North Korean media released a photo of Kim inspecting a women
soldiers' unit. But the apparent summer foliage in that photo's background
triggered further suspicions.
Releases of photos of Kim this week showed signs of paralysis of his left hand,
and some analysts even raised suspicions of fabrication, citing the disproportion
between him and others beside him.
Some analysts say North Korea may soon release video footage of Kim to put an end
to disputes over his health, citing the need for Kim to convince the incoming
U.S. administration of Barack Obama that he is a legitimate partner in the
ongoing negotiations on North Korea's nuclear dismantlement.
The U.S. has sought to restart the six-party nuclear talks, also involving South
Korea, Russia, China and Japan.
Toward that end, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill held
"substantive, serious" talks Thursday with North Korean diplomat Ri Gun in New
York, Wood said.
"They discussed the verification protocol, you know, energy assistance, and
disablement of the North's nuclear facilities," he said. Ri is director general
of the American affairs bureau of North Korea's Foreign Ministry.
Wood said the U.S. was waiting for China to announce a date fore resumption of
the six-party talks.
Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Ri, Hill said he expected a fresh
round of six-party talks will be held by the end of this month.
In July, North Korea agreed to disable its nuclear facilities by the end of
October in return for one million tons of heavy fuel oil or equivalent assistance
by that time.
Verification issues, however, stalled the process as North Korea would not agreed
to unfettered access to its nuclear facilities by international monitors.
Hill flew to Pyongyang in early October, achieving a breakthrough in which
Pyongyang agreed to allow outside inspectors to visit its undeclared sites,
though on mutual consent. The U.S. then lifted Pyongyang from its terrorism
blacklist.
U.S. hardliners accused the Bush administration of accepting a weak deal to make
the North Korean nuclear issue a major foreign policy achievement in its waning
months.
Ri, leading a North Korean delegation to New York for a seminar sponsored by the
National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) Friday, said Pyongyang was
ready to handle any U.S. government, apparently referring to the election of
Obama Tuesday.
"We are ready to respond to any U.S. administration whatever its North Korea
policy may be," Ri said. "We've handled many U.S. administrations, some seeking
dialogue with us and others trying to isolate and oppress us."
According to some reports, Obama may send a special envoy to Pyongyang to try and
make a breakthrough in the on-and-off multilateral nuclear talks, which date back
to 2003.
Frank Jannuzi, a key foreign policy adviser for Obama on Korea and other Asian
affairs, is also attending the seminar, in the first major contact between
Obama's foreign policy team and North Korea since Obama's election Tuesday.
Obama has said on several occasions that he is ready to meet with North Korean
leader Kim and has been critical of the George W. Bush administration for not
engaging Pyongyang, which led to the North's detonation of a nuclear device in
2006 and the build-up of its nuclear arsenal.
Bush's predecessor, Bill Clinton, was prepared to visit Pyongyang in 2000 just
prior to leaving office, but the plan was scrapped. Bush, after taking office,
quickly labeled the North as part of an axis of evil with which he would not
negotiate.