Kim Jong Il Suspected Of Stroke

ralphrepo · Sep 10, 2008

This was reported in the press this morning:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had surgery after suffering a stroke sometime after Aug. 14 and is recovering, officials at the nation's top intelligence agency were quoted as saying yesterday in their report to the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee.

"(Kim) is recovering (from his illness) and is in stable condition," Rep. Won Hye-young of the main opposition Democratic Party quoted a National Intelligence Service official as telling the closed-door briefing session. Kim appears to have no problem communicating and is able to move, the official said, according to the lawmaker. "Kim's condition is not so unstable and it seems he will be able to assume control (of his regular duties)," the NIS official was quoted as saying. "The regime is not in a power vacuum."

The Seoul government was put on high alert after Kim's failure to appear at Tuesday's celebration of North Korea's 60th anniversary spurred speculation that he may be having serious health problems.President Lee Myung-bak called an emergency meeting of security-related ministers yesterday afternoon to discuss the situation and measures to prepare for a possible emergency. He also presided over a meeting of senior presidential aides in the morning to receive reports on the situation. Following the absence of the 66-year-old dictator from the celebration on Tuesday, concerns have escalated regarding the impact of his health on the stability of the North Korean regime. Kim has yet to say which of his three sons will succeed him. His health is one of Pyongyang's main state secrets.But North Korea's No. 2 official, Kim Yong-nam, denied the reports that Kim Jong-il is ill, according to Japan's Kyodo News agency.Kim Yong-nam told Kyodo that there was "no problem" with Kim Jong-il. No further details were provided.

Kyodo also quoted a North Korean diplomat as calling the news reports regarding Kim's illness a "conspiracy" created by Western media. "We see such reports as not only worthless, but as a conspiracy plot," Song Il-ho, North Korea's ambassador who handles relations with Japan, told Kyodo. "I believe the aim is to form public opinion about something that is not true," Song was quoted as saying. "Western media have reported falsehoods before." North Korean media have maintained their standard focus on industrial projects and economic achievements, in addition to highlighting the Sept. 9 celebrations of the nation's 60th anniversary, and encouraging undying loyalty to their leader, Kim Jong-il.South Korea's 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 absence of Kim, who enjoys ultimate power, could cause an upheaval in the North and instigate major changes on the peninsula and throughout the region, observers have said. "In the worst-case scenario (concerning Kim's health), North Korea's domestic and foreign policies will drastically shrink. That would first and foremost have negative effects vis-a-vis the stalemated nuclear negotiations between North Korea and the United States," the Korea Institute for National Unification said. "This rumor of Kim's grave illness has awakened us once again about how important it is to prepare countermeasures for any abrupt change of the situation in the North," the institute added. Yesterday's NSC meeting was the second one to be held during Lee's administration. The first was in July following the shooting to death of a South Korean tourist by a North Korean solider in the Mt. Geumgang resort area. The Foreign Ministry was on alert, ordering its missions to the United States, China and other countries to seek more information. "The ministry's bureaus on North American affairs and Northeast Asian affairs, as well as the Office of Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, are constantly exchanging information with the relevant partner countries," a ministry official said on condition of anonymity. Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan is currently visiting Russia on an official trip. He returns home on Sunday after a visit to Mongolia.

The Unification Ministry is also analyzing the information it receives, taking a cautious approach. "As the news reports indicate, it could take a long time for Kim to recover if he had a stroke," a ministry official said. "We must prepare measures for all possibilities, including the effects on inter-Korean relations; North Korea's nuclear situation; and all that is connected to the situation on the Korean Peninsula," he said. The Unification Ministry appears to be determined not to exacerbate the strained inter-Korean relations by reacting excessively to the reports. After the death of North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung in July 1994, the government in Seoul ordered a special level of alert for the military and disallowed visits by Southerners who wished to cross the border to express condolences. Relations with the North went into a freeze. The death of Kim Jong-il's father came soon after he had agreed to hold summit talks with South Korean President Kim Young-sam. The ministry explained that Seoul's providing of food aid to the North will continue. The Lee administration will also consider allowing humanitarian groups to visit the North at the end of this month.

By Lee Joo-hee (angiely@heraldm.com)
Source: http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/
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I found it rather odd too, that the DPRK news outlet didn't have anything about this at all. It just listed all the 60th anniversary celebration festivities along with the various heads of states' congratulatory messages to Kim. (see this link: http://www.kcna.co.jp/index-e.htm )

Ralph

Akki · Sep 11, 2008

maybe its just north korea trying to hide any sign of weakness..........

ralphrepo · Sep 19, 2008

AkkiOnimusha said: ↑

maybe its just north korea trying to hide any sign of weakness..........
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Or maybe he's already dead, and his mistress, Kim Ok, assumed his title and is running the country LOL...

Aoes · Sep 19, 2008

yeah, this has been going for about a week or so on the news outlets... Kim Jong Il is either dead or he's paralyzed... end of... he's not well... he can't be well... if he really is on his way to recooperation, he would have atleast had shown up even for a few minutes to North Korea's 60th to reassure the people and the rest of the world...

funny thing is, there was a story about how Kim Jong Il is believed to be actually dead based on studies from some Japanese researchers...

furthermore, i believe North Korea also recently held their version of the Cannes Film Festival, seeing as how Kim Jong Il is a large fan of those highly illegal films, he'd have shown up to that as well...

ralphrepo · Sep 19, 2008

The good thing is, that once he's dead, no other leader will have the same personality cult -inlove type of following, and the people may finally wake up and smell the coffee.

Blobbyy · Sep 25, 2008

Stroke, dead, whatever - he is definetly unwell for sure... but north korea is still the same, no change...

Akki · Sep 25, 2008

ralphrepo said: ↑

The good thing is, that once he's dead, no other leader will have the same personality cult -inlove type of following, and the people may finally wake up and smell the coffee.
Click to expand...

i dont think coffee is allowed in North Korea..... -unsure LOLL

but wow.... this could be one crazy cover up....

EvilTofu · Sep 27, 2008

Does he have kids? If he dies, it can be chaotic, people fighting for power, if that's the case some people might think it's a good time to do something about it.

Kim Jong Il Suspected Of Stroke

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