North Korean leader Kim Jong Il reportedly has “life-threatening” pancreatic cancer.
New reports say the head of the communist nation was diagnosed with the disease last summer and will probably not live to see five years from now, if that.
According to the American Cancer Society, 20% of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer live for at least one year after discovering the disease, but only 5% are expected to live for up to five years because the cancer is typically only discovered when it’s in its final stages.
Kim, who made a rare public appearance at his late father’s yearly memorial last week, looked “markedly thinner” and appeared to have the after effects of a stroke with “imbalanced” lips.
Television footage showed him markedly thinner and with less hair. He also limped slightly, and the sides of his tightly pursed lips looked imbalanced in what were believed to be the effects of a stroke.
The issue of Kim’s successor has been blowing up in the media because if he were not to name a successor before his death, there would be the strong possibility of a “power struggle” in the country. Some have speculated that Kim’s son, Kim Jong Un, will take his father’s place but no confirmation has been made due to NK’s extreme privacy regarding political issues.
[Image via AP Images.]