N KOREA: North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is on the mend after an apparent stroke, a South Korean lawmaker said yesterday, with no sign that he has lost his grip over a country that possibly has nuclear weapons.
Mr Kim could stand up with assistance and was able to communicate, Lee Cheol-woo told a radio programme after a meeting with his country's spy chief, who denied reports that the enigmatic North Korean leader was partially paralysed.
"He's had circulatory problems but had treatment and now doesn't have a problem communicating. Kim is recovering quickly."
Mr Kim (66) has led communist North Korea for 14 years, under which the reclusive state has seen its anaemic economy shrink, its ballistic missile arsenal swell and UN sanctions imposed because of its nuclear programme and first atomic test two years ago.
South Korean daily JoongAng Ilbo cited an intelligence source as saying Mr Kim had a stroke about August 15th last and was treated by visiting foreign doctors.
Mr Kim's illness has caused concern about a country that has one of the world's largest standing armies and can fire missiles capable of reaching all of the Korean peninsula and most of Japan.
His death would create huge uncertainty over the leadership of a deeply paranoid state that has threatened to reduce the capitalist South to ashes and calls Japan and the US mortal enemies.
- (Reuters)