North Korea leader ill with pancreatic cancer - South Korea TV

TOKYO, July 13 (Itar-Tass) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is ill
with pancreatic cancer, the South Korean television said in an urgent
report with references to the intelligence services of China and South
Korea.
The U.S. intelligence affirmed in South Korea and Kim Jong Il survived
a stroke and was partially paralysed last August. For the last few months
he supposedly lives not in the capital, but at a residence in Wonsan on
the North Korean eastern coast.
On July 8, the Pyongyang central television showed a ceremony on
occasion of the 15th death anniversary of the father of the incumbent
leader - North Korean founder Kim Il Sung. At the ceremony the North
Korean leader looked very exhausted.
From the beginning of this year some reports appear that Kim Jong Il
allegedly named his junior son Kim Jong Un as his successor. According to
some political experts, North Korea's latest tough actions, including the
second nuclear test and the launches of missiles, are seeking to
consolidate the nation during a difficult period of the preparations to
the official proclamation of Kim's successor.
-0-baz