Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

N. Korea: Frail Kim Jong-il 'may only have months to live' (source questionable)
Telegraph ^ | 07/10/09 | Julian Ryall

Posted on 07/10/2009 2:53:14 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster

Frail Kim Jong-il 'may only have months to live'

Kim Jong-il is seriously ill and is likely to be dead before the end of the year, according to a source within the North Korean leader's own family.

By Julian Ryall in Tokyo

Published: 5:28AM BST 10 Jul 2009

The latest speculation over the health of the reclusive Kim has been triggered by his appearance on state television on Wednesday to mark the 15th anniversary of the death of Kim Il Sung, his father and the man revered as the founder of North Korea.

He looked gaunt, his hair has thinned dramatically and he walked with a limp. It is believed that 67-year-old Kim suffered a serious stroke in August 2008 and that his recovery has been delayed by long-standing diabetes and heart disease.

"He does not have all that much longer to live and my sources say the doctors' diagnosis is that he will die before the end of the year," Professor Toshimitsu Shigemura, an expert on North Korean affairs at Waseda University, told the Daily Telegraph.

"He is still being treated for the main problem, which is complications arising from his diabetes, and it had been expected that he could die as soon as this summer," he said, citing personal sources within Kim's extended family.

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: death; kimjongil; nkorea; northkorea
IMHO, it is a reasonble assessment that Kim Jong-il could die before the end of this year. It won't surprise me if he dies tomorrow or is already dead a few days ago. On the other hand, the quoted source, Toshimitsu Shigemura, created an international furor last year by claiming that Kim Jong-il is already dead and his double is playing Kim's part for some years. This guy is a highly questionable source, even if the claim is reasonable.

His wild claim last year:

http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2008/s2358307.htm

Expert claims North Korea's leader is dead PRINT

The World Today - Monday, 8 September , 2008 12:50:00

Reporter: Karen Barlow

ELEANOR HALL: He doesn't appear in public very often so it's difficult to verify but there are allegations today that North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il has in fact been dead for five years.

A Japanese expert on North Korea is claiming that the role of the "Dear Leader" has instead been played by a group of doubles since 2003, when he says the President died of diabetes.

1 posted on 07/10/2009 2:53:14 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: TigerLikesRooster; AmericanInTokyo; Steel Wolf; nuconvert; MizSterious; nw_arizona_granny; ...
A broken clock trying to be right at least once, ping!
2 posted on 07/10/2009 2:54:11 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster (LUV DIC -- L,U,V-shaped recession, Depression, Inflation, Collapse)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: TigerLikesRooster

interesting. But there seem to be similar articles in other places saying his giving up on ‘western’ medicine


3 posted on 07/10/2009 2:59:32 AM PDT by GeronL ( Patriotic Insurrectionist is no longer a contradiction in terms!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GeronL
Yes, the claim is reasonable. However, I am not really convinced that the professor knows a relative of Kim Jong-il who can be a credible source. I guess this man is trying to grab public attention again using information already known to others.
4 posted on 07/10/2009 3:04:13 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster (LUV DIC -- L,U,V-shaped recession, Depression, Inflation, Collapse)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: TigerLikesRooster

Oh, yes, I can totally buy that


5 posted on 07/10/2009 3:05:14 AM PDT by GeronL ( Patriotic Insurrectionist is no longer a contradiction in terms!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: TigerLikesRooster

Well, we will have to start the FR Betting Pool at any rate, won’t we.


6 posted on 07/10/2009 3:08:04 AM PDT by AmericanInTokyo (May his victims--with the death and burial of Michael Jackson--finally find peace & come to closure)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: GeronL; All
Kim Jong Ill is real sick, but not bedridden. I'm feeling sick. Where's my medication. Pass me my medication and a glass of water.
7 posted on 07/10/2009 3:10:31 AM PDT by myknowledge (F-22 Raptor: World's Largest Distributor of Sukhoi parts!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: TigerLikesRooster

I don’t want to precisely reveal how I am assured of this, but it is a fairly assured matter that the good Professor Shigemura is a “little over the top” on this one and the US government, as well as Seoul, pretty much know the living Chia Pet’s movements and whereabouts...that is a lot of logistic and confuscation trouble for the Norkies to go through for five years to conceal that he had croaked and try to fake for that long.....


8 posted on 07/10/2009 3:11:03 AM PDT by AmericanInTokyo (May his victims--with the death and burial of Michael Jackson--finally find peace & come to closure)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: TigerLikesRooster

Six one way and half a dozen the other. There has always been a bit more back channel communication between Japan and NK than has been let on.


9 posted on 07/10/2009 3:14:21 AM PDT by Ronin (It will be helpful Wif Geithner can show us some arithmetic.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: TigerLikesRooster

If he is that close to his “just reward” so to speak, it would seem that the power structure would be jockeying for position to make sure that they stay in power or move up a rung or two.<P< Are you seeing any sign of that?


10 posted on 07/10/2009 3:47:05 AM PDT by Jimmy Valentine (DemocRATS - when they speak, they lie; when they are silent, they are stealing the American Dream)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: AmericanInTokyo; TigerLikesRooster

It is a “serious disorder” of the pancreas according to

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hojGzu4N5oqxxY4ydHVOMDjISGEw


11 posted on 07/10/2009 5:06:56 AM PDT by AdmSmith
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: TigerLikesRooster

This reminds me of the reports of the death, or near-death of Fidel Castro.


12 posted on 07/10/2009 6:12:15 AM PDT by Old Grumpy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: AdmSmith

Well, the two American girls in the Pyongyang Guest House will have to endure hearing 10 straight days of wailing outside their windows and on TV, akin to a convention of banshees, when and if the Chia Pet finally does check out for good. It was a nonstop cryfest up there in DPRK when old man kicked the bucket 15 years ago Wednesday.


13 posted on 07/10/2009 7:56:11 AM PDT by AmericanInTokyo (May his victims--with the death and burial of Michael Jackson--finally find peace & come to closure)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Old Grumpy

I am of half the mind to send a sarcastic **GET WELL CHIA PET CARD** to the DPRK UN mission in New York City, just to piss them off (they do not talk publicly about his ailments) and get in a couple of last good digs.


14 posted on 07/10/2009 7:57:25 AM PDT by AmericanInTokyo (May his victims--with the death and burial of Michael Jackson--finally find peace & come to closure)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: AmericanInTokyo

bttt


15 posted on 07/10/2009 8:03:09 AM PDT by ConservativeMan55
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: AmericanInTokyo

Send him some candy some of his fav booze that would tip him toward early grave get some See candies here in US LOL!

They are sugary


16 posted on 07/10/2009 10:09:37 AM PDT by SevenofNine ("We are Freepers, all your media belong to us, resistence is futile")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: SevenofNine; TigerLikesRooster
UPDATE: (Friday night US Time)////Now we are getting analytic video footage from major Japanese Television network today HERE. Just hit the arrow in the box below the photo for the stream to work. Might be a good link for a day or so. Goes into good analysis, with two sets of video in comparison, showing Kim's deteriorating condition.
17 posted on 07/10/2009 5:55:51 PM PDT by AmericanInTokyo (May his victims--with the death and burial of Michael Jackson--finally find peace & come to closure)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: SevenofNine
Now we are getting analytic video footage from Japanese Television today HERE. Just hit the arrow in the box below the photo. Goes into good analysis, with two sets of video, showing Kim's deteriorating condition.
18 posted on 07/10/2009 6:08:40 PM PDT by AmericanInTokyo (May his victims--with the death and burial of Michael Jackson--finally find peace & come to closure)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: AmericanInTokyo

He is illll there no question I think dude suffer diabetic stroke or something I got better idea send him some sugary candies LOL!

Hey do you think our fav North Korea newsbabe Pyrongang Patty be crying when Chia Pet kick the bucket LOL!


19 posted on 07/10/2009 7:35:54 PM PDT by SevenofNine ("We are Freepers, all your media belong to us, resistence is futile")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson