North Korean Kim Jong Il Dying from Pancreatic Cancer

by wildcherry on Monday, July 13th, 2009 | Health, News, World

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has life-threatening pancreatic cancer, a news report said Monday, days after fresh images of him looking gaunt spurred speculation that his health was worsening following a reported stroke last year.

The 67-year-old Kim was diagnosed with the cancer around the time he was felled by the stroke last summer, Seoul’s YTN television reported, citing unidentified intelligence officials in South Korea and China.

The report cited the officials saying the disease is “threatening” Kim’s life.

Pancreatic cancer is usually found in its final stage, and considering Kim’s age, he is expected to live no more than five years, the report said.

South Korea’s spy agency said it could not confirm the report. Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung told reporters he knows nothing of the report. Foreign Ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young also said he had no information.

The won dropped to a two-month low as overseas investors cut their holdings of the nation’s shares by the most since April 8. Kim, who has yet to announce a successor, is suffering from pancreatic cancer and has less than five years to live, Seoul-based YTN television reported, citing unidentified intelligence officials in China and South Korea. The North has in the past two months tested a nuclear bomb, fired missiles into the waters off its coast and threatened to attack the South.

“The currency and stocks responded sharply to Kim Jong Il’s rumored illness, which may increase uncertainty over the Korean peninsula,” said Christian Jin, a fund manager at HI Asset Management Co. in Seoul, which oversees the equivalent of $7.7 billion in assets. “The issue may hang over markets in the short-term, as will a correction in global shares.”

The won declined 2.6 percent to close at 1,316.50 per dollar in Seoul, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s the weakest it’s been since April 30. The Kospi fell 3.5 percent, while the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index of regional equities slid 2.5 percent.

Kim may have only one more year to live as his health deteriorates, the Washington Times reported on its Web site on July 10, citing an unidentified U.S. official. The 67 year-old leader, who has made only two public appearances this year, is close to transferring control of the communist nation to his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, a South Korea official said June 24 on condition of anonymity.