Bill Clinton says Kim Jong-il is healthy, in command

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is healthier
than many people thought and clearly in command of state affairs, former U.S.
President Bill Clinton has said.

In the first description of the health of Kim Jong-il since his three-hour
meeting with the reclusive North Korean leader early last month, Clinton said in
an interview with CNN's Larry King Live Monday, "I found him alert, in better
health than most people thought, and clearly in command of the situation and
clearly interested in whether there was some positive outcomes, more positive
than the ones that are generated by their policies today."
Clinton met with Kim Jong-il for more than three hours to win the release of two
American journalists who were detained in Pyongyang for months for illegal entry
on a reporting tour, as well as to discuss other issues of mutual concern,
including the North's nuclear weapons ambitions.
Clinton's Pyongyang trip appears to have terminated suspicions over the health of
the reclusive leader amid reports he had begun the process to cede power to his
third and youngest son, Jong-un, after apparently suffering a stroke in the
summer of last year.
Kim's health failure has been often cited for the North's provocations early this
year, including its second nuclear test and a barrage of missile and rocket
tests, only to invite international sanctions.
A possible regime collapse has since been a topic of discussion.
In another interview with NBC's "Today" show Tuesday, Clinton said Kim Jong-il
released the journalists to help enhance bilateral ties after the North's earlier
provocations, probably related to his failing health and an ensuing succession
scenario.
"It's obvious that the leader, Kim Jong-il, having gone through a period where
they were dealing with a succession crisis and questions about his health, had
reached the point where he thought he knew that these young women -- even though
they have admitted they crossed very briefly into a very tiny portion of North
Korea on the Chinese border -- had no business going to prison for 12 years and
that there was way more down side than up side there," he said.
U.S. President Barack Obama said Sunday, "I think President Clinton's assessment
was that (Kim Jong-il is) pretty healthy and in control. There's no doubt that
this is somebody who, you know, I think for a while people thought was slipping
away. He's reasserted himself. He was more concerned about succession when he was
sick, maybe less so now that he's well."
Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific Affairs,
however, was still cautious Monday, when he stressed the need for international
cooperation in coping with possible contingencies.
"We've agreed privately among several of states that we need very close
coordination and dialogue about developments inside North Korea," Campbell said.
"It's an uncertain time. We appear to be witnessing some issues associated with
future transition, uncertain health of Kim Jong-il. So, quiet dialogue and
discussion about developments there is essential."
Adm. Timothy Keating, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, said in July that
the U.S. was "prepared to execute a wide range of options" to cope with any
contingency in North Korea in the event of the death of the ailing leader.
A U.S. government team is also examining several scenarios, including "regime
collapse in North Korea," for inclusion in the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review,
the first to be released under the Obama administration, according to a report of
the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The U.S. has also reached out to China, but the Beijing government refused to
discuss the possibility of a regime change or collapse in the North, apparently
to avoid provoking its closest communist ally.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)