North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s health is not markedly improving nor deteriorating and his eldest son’s statement to a Japanese media outlet were “staged” for self-protection, a local daily quoted a senior Seoul official as saying.
Unification Minister Hyun In-taek made the remarks on Monday in a meeting with chiefs of overseas missions, according to the Chosun Ilbo. He added that the Stalinist leader appears to be using his left arm with slightly more ease after reportedly suffering a stroke in 2008.
The ministry did not confirm the report.
As for a recent interview given by the leader’s wayward eldest son to Asahi TV, the report quoted Hyun as saying that Kim Jong-nam "made the comments for his own protection, sending a message to his half-brother Jong-un that he has no ambition for power and therefore wishes him well.”
The report comes as the elder Kim, 69, has apparently accelerated the succession process to his youngest son, Jong-un, who is thought to be no older than 29.
In the interview, Jong-nam, who lives in China, expressed his support for his younger half-brother and called for improved conditions for the North Korean people.
The minister also said the North’s military appears to be carrying out "high-level diplomatic activities" that may typically be reserved for its foreign ministry, such as facilitating the visit of former U.S. President Bill Clinton in 2009 to escort two American journalists back home, the report said.
Meanwhile, Japan-based Kyodo News reported that the North has suspended the rental of mobile phones by foreign visitors.
Citing recent visitors to the isolated country, the report said the ban has been in place since January, drawing more speculation that the North is concerned that the democracy demonstrations sweeping the Middle East will seep through its borders.
The North typically bans foreigners from bringing mobile phones into the country, but since 2008 has rented them for domestic use through a joint project with Egypt’s Orascom Telecom.
Its state media has yet to report on the upheaval in the Middle East including the fall of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt.