N. Korea's Kim has pancreatic cancer - report

By Jack Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has life-threatening pancreatic cancer, South Korean broadcaster YTN said on Monday, citing information gathered from Chinese and South Korean intelligence sources.

The report fuelled speculation about Kim's health while raising questions about the future of Asia's only communist dynasty and who will make decisions about its nuclear programmes.

It also comes after a gaunt Kim, who was suspected of suffering a stroke a year ago, made a rare public appearance last Wednesday at a memorial for his father and state founder Kim Il-sung. The stark figure he cast heightened speculation the 67-year-old leader was still ill.

Kim's health is one of the most closely guarded secrets in the reclusive state. There has never been official confirmation of him falling ill.

YTN said the diagnoses of the cancer came around the same time as the stroke.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service declined to confirm the reports and the Unification Ministry said it had no information to back up the report. U.S. officials did not immediately have comment.

The news hurt sentiment on Seoul's main stock index, which posted its biggest loss in more than four months amid renewed U.S. financial and earnings worries.

"Such news highlights South Korea's geopolitical uncertainty and risks and one thing that investors hate is any uncertainty," said Lee Kyoung-su, a market analyst at Taurus Investment & Securities.