North Korea Denies Rumours of Kim Jong-il's Illness

North Korea has denied that its leader, Kim Jong-il, is seriously ill, despite his absence from celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the country's founding yesterday.

Senior officials took the rare step of granting interviews to a foreign news outlet in an attempt to end weeks of speculation.

The country's second-in-command, Kim Yong-nam, said there was "no problem" with the supreme leader, while Song Il-ho, a senior North Korean diplomat, told Japan's Kyodonews agency that rumors of ill-health were "not true". He added: "We see such reports as not only worthless, but rather as a conspiracy plot."

South Korean and Western officials have said that they believe Kim may be gravely ill, possibly due to a stroke.

Analysts have stressed that Kim - who has not been seen in public since mid-August - can drop out of sight for months. But they also say it is highly unusual for him to miss major events such as yesterday's anniversary.

His condition is of particular concern internationally given that there is no clear line of succession and Pyongyang recently resumed its nuclear program. It blamed the United States for leaving it on a terrorism blacklist despite an agreement of better relations in exchange for disarmament.

The deal was hammered out with the US, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia, but Washington then said that North Korea would have to agree to an inspection system before it could be removed from the list.

Analysts fear that the military, known to be hostile to denuclearisation, might gain the upper hand in the event of Kim's death.

There are also concerns about the stability of the desperately impoverished state, which faces a food crisis.

The South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak, convened an emergency meeting in Seoul today to discuss the situation with senior aides, an official said.

Kim inherited his position from his father Kim Il-sung, the country's founder, making it the world's first communist dynasty. He was groomed for the leadership long before his father's death in 1994.

But he does not appear to have anointed any of his three sons as his successor. The eldest is believed to have fallen from favor after he was caught trying to enter Japan on a fake passport in 2001. He said he wanted to visit Tokyo Disneyland.