By Takashi Hirokawa and Toko SekiguchiOct. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso wasn't citing specific intelligence reports when he speculated yesterday that North Korea's Kim Jong Il is still running the communist state, the government's top spokesman said.
"It's not that we have detailed information," Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura told reporters in Tokyo today. "Yesterday the prime minister spoke, but it's not as if we have something concrete."
During a session of the upper house of Parliament yesterday, Aso cited reports that Kim "may be hospitalized." Japanese officials don't believe "he's incapable of making decisions," Aso said, responding to a question about Japan's intelligence gathering.
Kim's absence at North Korea's 60th anniversary parade on Sept. 9 provoked media reports speculating he was suffering from ill health, which North Korean officials deny.
North Korea's state-run Korea Central News Agency reported on Oct. 4 that Kim attended a university soccer match, without publishing pictures or specifying when the game took place. It said on Oct. 11 that Kim toured a military base known as "KPA Unit 821," without saying when the visit took place or where the camp is located.
To contact the reporters on this story: Takashi Hirokawa in Tokyo at thirokawa@bloomberg.net; Toko Sekiguchi in Tokyo at Tsekiguchi3@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: October 28, 2008 23:38 EDT
Posts
