Pyongyang Rumors: Kim Jong Il's health

Kim Jong Il on an onsite inspection of Shinuiju in June ⓒ Yonhap News


Rumor Spreads from Pyongyang that "Kim Jong Il Has a Severe Illness"

By Kwon Jeong Hyun, of China
[2007-07-20 15:38 ]
DAILYNK.COM

A North Korean tradesmen who has a business in Shinuiju as well as a multitude of sources relayed on the 19th that the news of Kim Jong Il contracting a severe illness is secretly spreading in Pyongyang and in the North Korea-China border region.
A day ago, Mr. Hong, a tradesman who came out to Dandong, China, while meeting a Chinese trader at a restaurant said, "Enterprise traders who are in Shinuiju are worried about the General's health. His health is not just unwell, the word is that it is severe."
Mr. Hong said, "Merchants who trade abroad cannot help but be sensitive to politics. If a huge disaster strikes the country, there is immediately a problem with traffic. We cannot help but worry." He also expressed, "Through trade office advisors or party leaders coming and going from Pyongyang, the news is surreptitiously spreading."
Mr. Hong said that he of course fully knew information from Chinese traders that Kim Jong Il recovered from his surgery. He said that besides information flowing from the outside, but rumors of the "severe illness of Kim Jong Il" has continuously leaked out from inside North Korea. He specifically named Pyongyang as the origin of such news.
Analysts predicted that in the case that the news of Kim Jong Il contracting a severe illness spreads within North Korea, its influence can extend to the society.
Further, another North Korean inside source said in a phone conversation, "After March of last year, the deterioration of Kim Jong Il's condition started leaking out from Pyongyang."
The source said, "Sometime between March and April of last year, Kim Jong Il visited the training headquarters of Pyongyang Capital Defense, but according to witnesses, could not climb the stairs by himself, so officials escorting him had to lend him a hand. There were only 15-20 steps, so the stairs were not even very high. After this event, the news of Kim Jong Il contracting a severe illness started to spread rapidly."
Also, Mr. Kim, a Korean-Chinese who drives a taxi in Longjing in Jilin, China said in a phone conversation on the same day, "The news of Kim Jong Il's illness has continuously appeared on South Korean TV, informing North Korean people."
He also said, "I ask North Koreans who have come on visits to relatives, 'Do you know anything about Kim Jong Il receiving a surgery, which is what South Korean TV has been reporting?' but most do not respond. Occasionally, there are people who quietly say that they heard about his illness in North Korea."
On one hand, a domestic information specialist said, "We think that rumors have spread in North Korea. However, because Kim Jong Il is still getting along, such news alone will not bring about a significant change."





▲ When Kim Jong Il visited in Shinam Cooperative Farm in Yongchon, South Pyongan on June 8th. ⓒ Yonghap News


Kim Jong Il Received PTCA, Not Surgery

By Yang Jung A
[2007-06-21 23:57 ]
DAILYNK.COM

Kim Jong Il underwent a Percuteneous Transarterial Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA) performed by German doctors in mid-May.

An inside Japanese source well acquainted with North Korea reported by telephone on the 20th that Kim Jong Il received medical treatment from doctors of the Berlin Heart Center in mid-May and was back at work a day later.
This source said that North Korean authority asked the German doctors to closely examine Kim Jong Il’s health and perform surgery if necessary. The examination revealed a myocardial infarction, but no other serious heart condition.
According to the doctors, Kim’s health was not bad except for kidney hypertrophy and some symptoms of diabetes. After examination he received the relatively simple PTCA treatment instead of surgery.
PTCA expands a narrow artery by inflating a tiny balloon. The balloon is introduced into the artery through catheter. It is an effective treatment for coronary artery diseases without the use of thoracotomy, and results in high success rates and few complications. Patients need just a couple of days’ rest. Dr. Jung Yong Suk, a heart specialist at the Sunrin Hospital in Handong University, explained to the Daily NK that “PTCA is a medical treatment for coronary arteries supplying blood into the heart. If Kim Jong Il required the procedure, he may have some problem in his coronary arteries, but it is uncertain if it is a stricture of the heart or myocardial infarction.”
The Japanese source said that the “German doctors promised to keep Kim Jong Il’s procedure a secret and to coordinate a faked story with North Korea authority.” Therefore, the spokesperson of Berlin Heat Center revealed that 6 members of the center stayed in Pyongyang from May 11th to the 19th, treating only three laborers, a nurse, and a scientist.
A North Korea expert speculated that Kim Jong Il might be addressing health concerns prior to the year end South Korean Presidential Election and further nuclear negotiations. Many groundless reports have circulated regarding possible Kim Jong Il heart surgery. A Japanese magazine, Shukan Gendai, claimed that Kim Jong Il received coronary artery bypass surgery for myocardial infarction.