French doctor denies treating N.K. leader: report

SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Yonhap) -- A French doctor has denied a newspaper report that he
treated North Korean leader Kim Jong-il or that he has any information about
Kim's health, a report said.
French newspaper Le Figaro quoted the neurosurgeon Francois-Xavier Roux as saying
last week that Kim did in fact suffer a stroke but did not undergo surgery as was
widely suspected, and that he is now in better condition.
Roux, who reportedly visited Pyongyang at the end of October, was also quoted as
saying that the photos of Kim that have been released by the North seem recent
and authentic to him.
"I did not see their leader and I don't have any information about the leader,"
Roux told the Associated Press Sunday, adding that he had been misquoted by the
French daily.
Roux, of Saint-Anne hospital in Paris, said he traveled to Pyongyang in April
with several colleagues to teach the latest spinal surgery techniques. He said he
made a one-day follow-up visit in late October to draw up a list of materials
needed for a local neurosurgery unit.
"Like many other French, German or other doctors, I have been to Korea several
times," AP quoted him as saying. "It was never to see their leader," he said.
South Korean and U.S. intelligence officials have said the 66-year-old Kim is
recovering after undergoing brain surgery. North Korea has vehemently denied
reports of Kim's illness and released photos of him through state media
inspecting military units and factories, as well as attending a sporting event,
apparently to show he is active and remains in control of the state.
The photos, however, were not effective in quelling speculation on Kim's health,
with some claiming they might have been taken before Kim had a stroke or may have
been fabricated to show the leader is well.
Kim's health has been the subject of keen attention as he has not publicly
nominated a successor and is believed to suffer from diabetes and heart disease.
He officially took power after his father, state founder Kim Il-sung, died of a
heart attack in 1997.
sshim@yna.co.kr
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