By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s deteriorating health foretells an era of collective leadership by military figures other than his family’s dynastic power over the Stalinist regime, a British newspaper reported Monday.
It may eventually lead to the dismantlement of the regime’s nuclear weapons program, the Daily Telegraph said.
Citing unidentified Western diplomats in Pyongyang, the newspaper said the Stalinist leader has been ``so unwell’’ he needs heart surgery, and cannot walk more than 30 yards without a rest.
``Diplomats in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, are increasingly convinced that the 65-year-old dictator needs heart surgery to restore his apparently flagging health,’’ the daily said, adding Kim has had to be accompanied by an assistant carrying a chair so that wherever he goes he can sit and catch his breath.
The report came amid a flurry of speculation over the state of Kim’s health. Speculation was heightened when a report said last week that a team of six doctors from the German Heart Institute in Berlin flew to Pyongyang for an eight-day stay last month.
Kim, who also suffers from diabetes, was believed by diplomats to have been treated by the German medical team, the newspaper said. A spokesman for the German team, however, said they had treated three laborers, a nurse and a scientist, not Kim.
Kim became the ruler of North Korea, one of the world’s most isolated states, in 1994 after his father, the regime’s founder, Kim Il-sung, died of heart failure.
His public appearances have recently been curtailed, which observers say is an indication of his flagging health. Because of his month-long disappearance from public view, North Korean watchers speculated that he might have undergone an operation.
Kim’s alleged health problem also put the question of his succession in the spotlight.
He is reported to be considering picking either his second son Jong-chul, 26, or third son Jong-un, 23, as his successor. Many observers say Kim seems to more favor Jong-un than Jong-chul because of the third son’s cool-headed personality.
His eldest son, Kim Jong-nam, 36, is out of favor after being deported from Japan six years ago for trying to enter the country on a forged passport.