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          South Korea Spy Agency: North Korea Leader Had Ankle Surgery

   by VOA News

   What caused North Korean leader Kim John-Un to begin walking with a
   cane earlier this month? Ankle surgery, says South Korea's spy agency,
   as reported by Yonhap news agency on Tuesday.

   Kim's six-week absence from public events set off a frenzy of wild
   speculation around the world, from serious health issues to a possible
   coup.

   The National Intelligence Service (NIS) told South Korean legislators
   that a foreign doctor flew to the counrty and operated on Kim in
   September or October to remove a cyst from his ankle, said Park
   Byeong-seok, an aide for opposition lawmaker Shin Kyung-min.

   The NIS's report also suggested the cyst would recur due to Kim's
   health - he is obese and a heavy smoker - and his heavy public
   schedule, Park said the legislators were told.

   Kim was last seen attending a music concert with his wife on September
   3. But photos of him in public reappeared on October 14, showing Kim,
   using a cane, conducting a series of inspections of new residential
   complexes in Pyongyang.

   It wasn't immediately clear how the information was obtained by the spy
   agency, which has a spotty track record of analyzing developments in
   opaque North Korea, The Associated Press reported.

   Some material for this report came from AP and AFP.

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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/south-korea-spy-agency-north-korea-le
   ader-ankle-surgery/2499010.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/south-korea-spy-agency-north-korea-leader-ankle-surgery/2499010.html