French Doctors on Treating Kim Jong-il Since the 1990s; Confirms Stroke
by Richardson ~ December 11th, 2008. Filed under: Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, North Korea.French doctors have been treating North Korean elite – to include Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il – since the early 1990s. Rumors of European physicians treating the Kim Jong-il have been around for years, but the bizarre details were bound to surface sooner or later; here are a few (h/t PS) [original text in French, and in English via Google Translate]:
For the first time, French surgeons testify about their secret consultations with North Korean leaders for over fifteen years.
In spring 2004, Professor Yves Boin received a strange phone call. “The French intelligence services believed that I was in possession of a tube of blood of leader Kim Jong-il, who had AIDS,” said the neurosurgeon who was one of the first members of the French medical sector to care for dignitaries of the North Korean [elite]. (emphasis added)
A suggestion that Kim Jong-il had AIDS? First I’ve heard of that - sure to start new rumors. Dr. Roux also confirmed reports of Kim Jong-il’s stroke:
. . . in late October at the bedside of Kim Jong-il, François-Xavier Roux, chief of neurosurgery at the hospital Sainte-Anne in Paris, agreed for the first time To lift the veil on his mission to Pyongyang. “Kim Jong-il suffered a stroke, but it has not been made. Today, it is better. The photos that have been published seem current and authentic. It seems to me that Kim Jong-il is in control of North Korea. I can not say more, I am required to medical confidentiality and secrecy of State, “said the friend of Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, a former him as the NGO, Medecins du monde. (emphasis added)
Details are given about a pacemaker for Kim Il-sung in November 1991, Kim Jong-il’s “cerebral hemorrhage” after falling from a horse in the early 90s, and more. Keep in mind that this is significant because it’s an unambiguous admission. Be sure to read the rest.
December 11th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
We should pay Frenchie to off KJI.
December 11th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
I wonder how much supervision those European docs have when working on KJI? It’d probably be a mistake for him to off him on the table, but perhaps the introduction of a slow working drug… Probably those docs think of the Hippocratic Oath when working on monsters like Kim (though strangely not when aborting a healthy fetus, for the most part).
I don’t know much about Roux aside from; a) he’s been treating North Koreans for awhile, b) is a friend of Kouchner, and c) has been with Doctors Without Borders for awhile. Not sure if he uses the earnings from North Korea to help with his Docs w/o borders work, or banks it.
December 11th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
I’d think he’s got tons of supervision, but if he truly believes in Doctors Without Borders, he’d figure out a way to kill KJI and save millions.
December 11th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Kim looks like utter crap these days.
As for the doctor, I find it really funny communist countries tout how awesome the free healthcare is (Also SiCKO), but use free world doctors for the privileged.
December 11th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
He may believe that KJI’s death could trigger war, which is possible though not likely, IMO. My guess is a transition to some sort of group leadership (and not necessarily military), probably with someone like Chang Song-taek as the nominal leader of that group.
December 11th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
I am surprised he disclosed that much information after reading the article. I wonder what prompted him to open up?
December 11th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
That’s a good question, Jack. I doubt a newspaper can pay any of those doctors as much as North Korea does. And they kept the secret long enough that it may not be some sort of perverse bragging rights.
December 12th, 2008 at 5:21 am
For some strange reason, I can not connect to the figaro website now. Kouchner has nothing to do with Doctors without borders now, a fact that the NGO has been keen to remind on various occasions. Well, the NGO objective is not to change a political system according to ones affinities but to provide medical aid most frequently in “very difficult” contexts (conflict, post-conflict,…) where public health system are week or almost non-existent. Finally, Doctors without borders was the first NGO to access NK where it had nutrition programs and was among the first to actually leave the country, considering the aid was channelled by the regime (PDS) and could not reach vulnerable segments of population. This departure was followed by an effective mediatic campaign condeming aid to north korea. Finally, France is one of the few european country that has still no diplomatic relations with DPRK and very few economic projects / inserests.
December 12th, 2008 at 8:29 am
A good article giving various hints on the role of French doctors and the involvement of NK’s diplomatic missions (decent articles about NK are too rare in the French Press although they have a rich history of political investigation and satire). In my previous comment, I meant that we need to be very cautious here when we associate institutions or NGOs, such as MSF (pure speculation, and quiet misplaced in my opinion). To me, this also says a bit about the methods used by DPRK’s foreign missions and diplomats, which are very active in identifying specialists they want to work with (in various fields [medical, agriculture, technology, IT…]) and can be very convincing when it comes to have them hired, usually for short-term mission on a specific issue. Most frequently, the institutions that the expert belongs to (research center, hospital, agronomic station…) are left aside (there’s a clear unwillingness to engage “institutionally” from both side), so these “kind” of “exceptional” partnerships (technology transfer, “capacity building”, or simply medical/technical assistance) tend to be sorted out between a diplomatic mission (and other institutions in the country) and an expert, without explicit endorsement and involvement of the institution. This sort of pattern is also suggested by the article, which present a brief description of Ri Tcheul’s involvement, whose name appears to be misspelt. He’s the ambassador of DPRK to the international organization in Geneva and also DPRK’s ambassador to Switzerland in Bern - both are “key” diplomatic posts for DPRK]). I will try to translate some parts of the article. By the way, the Figaro mentions the “mysterious” suicide of Kim Jong-nam’s cousin, Jan Kung Song that, according to the article, has been found dead in Paris in august 2006.
December 12th, 2008 at 9:11 am
My guess is that NK prompted and allowed the french Doc to speak up only because Kim is seemingly getting better and NK must also recognize that SK and the US have declared it as fact that he suffered a stroke.
All I see out of NK is a constant flow of damage control by very irresponsible and uneducated NK elite.
The regime is doomed to collapse, and the only way it will collapse is through the uprising of the people. As technology grows and more and more NKs get news from abroad they will soon rise up as many already have.
The only speculation as an outside source is that the brutality and shear fear of the citizens of NK must be incredibly immense to put up with this regime. People are not robots. NKs are not stupid. They do what they need to do to survive, and that means following a quoto of fear.
This is all redundant… very scary… and a pain in the worlds ass.
December 12th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
[...] Jong Il’s doctor finally talks about what happened to Kim Jong Il. DPRK Studies has more. Very interesting read, but why did the doctor speak [...]
December 12th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
“The regime is doomed to collapse, and the only way it will collapse is through the uprising of the people.”
Unfortunately Steve, up unitl this point the North Korean people have proven to be immune from mass dissent. Lets hope they greak free.
December 15th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Doesn’t it seem odd to anyone that the doctor vouched for the photos (which in fact don’t seem authentic) and made it a point to say that he believes KJI is in control? This feels like bs to me, and makes me believe the opposite, that KJI is in fact not in control and not getting better.
December 24th, 2008 at 7:35 am
I’ve recently been to North Korea for two weeks and published an story on Kim Jong Il as movieman and politician (in German ZEIT magazine). It’s an analysis of film as both a political tool but also entertainment.
A clip from the reportage is available on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM7Fszxr68Y
I wrote another story about the film festival for the New York Times. One North Korean director confirmed to me that Kim does take a personal hand in filmmaking - still!
Malte
http://www.malte-herwig.com/northkorea.html
January 9th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Hello,
Also this video is very interesting:
http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=ITBqRSMBWaM
So what must bedone?
I doubt that after the fall of kim there is a general who continue this shack.