North Korea Denies Leaders Ill Health

(10 Sept 08 - RV) North Korea denied today that leader Kim Jong Il is seriously ill.

North Korea's second in command Kim Yong Nam, said there was “no problem”
and a senior diplomat also said reports about Kim Jong Il's health were «not true.»

Speculation has intensified that Kim may have taken ill after he missed a parade yesterday commemorating the communist state's founding 60 years ago.

In South Korea President Lee Myung-bak convened an emergency meeting today in Seoul
to discuss the situation with senior aides.

Journalist Frank Smith who is based in South Korea, says that despite media speculation, some analysts have been cautious about reading into the situation too much.