Sorry this isn't much of a diary but wanted to get the word out. This is a breaking wire story.
SEOUL, South Korea — (Reuters) — Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader, has pancreatic cancer and the illness is life-threatening, the South Korean broadcaster YTN said on Monday, attributing the information to unidentified Chinese and South Korean intelligence sources.
The article goes on to say that he may not have much longer to live.
He looked gaunt during a public appearance last Wednesday at a memorial for his father, the founder of North Korea, Kim Il-sung.
The YTN account did not explain how the sources for its information learned about the pancreatic cancer diagnosis. But if Mr. Kim does have pancreatic cancer, it is likely to mean he could only have months to live, perhaps less. The disease is one of the most hard to detect in its early stages and has one of the highest fatality rates.
There isn't much more to the story right now and this may be a false lead, but if there is truth to it, it is an important development.