Hardliners have tightened their political grip on North Korea while Kim Jong Il, the Stalinist state dictator, has retreated into virtual seclusion after the death of his favorite consort from cancer. Chinese and Western sources day the regieme has prepared for a state of siege as it confronts a re-elected US Administration under George W. Bush that is determined to break Pyongyang and disarm it of nuclear weapons. As Japense envoys tried to persuade North Korea last week to rejoin multinational talks, Mr. Kim's absence from the scene led to speculation that a debilitating power struggle might have paralysed the ruling group.
The meetings followed the death of Koh Youg-hee, a dancer who had provided Mr. Kim with an heir apparent to the world's only communist dynasty.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11387512^2703,00.html
So...Kim Jong ILL or Kim Jong DEAD? (sorry)