To Your Health!

[Updated] If there’s anything to a new report that Kim Jong Il’s liver is seizing up on him, I may have to admit that Madeleine Albright’s toast of a mass murderer contributed to the cause of world peace after all (the old soldiers’ rumor is that he just drinks colored water to extract cash from naive foreign diplomats). And although I don’t believe everything I hear from GNP lawmakers, I certainly hope we can get this rumor into circulation up North. It comes via Yonhap, the official South Korean news agency:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has difficulty walking as a result of diabetes and kidney and liver problems, a South Korean lawmaker said Wednesday.

“Kim needs to have an assistant follow him around holding a chair since he has problems walking more than 30 meters at once,” Chung Hyung-keun of the main opposition Grand National Party claimed at a party gathering in Gyeongju, about 371 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

Chung won’t reveal his sources and admits that the National Intelligence Service disagrees with his information. Recently, Kim Jong Il’s public presence has been noticeably scarce. True or not, nothing stokes a power struggle like rumors of a leader’s ill health. Put away that supernote, Dear Leader. Mojitos are on us, and we’ll keep ’em coming.

Updates:

Tantalized that God might preempt the hangman, I did some quick research on the links between “diabetes and kidney and liver problems.” Despite persistent reports that Kim has a history of heavy drinking, this may not be alcohol-related:

Diabetes is associated with some types of liver disease. For example, poorly controlled blood sugar can increase your risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, also called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. This can lead to scarring of the liver (nonalcoholic cirrhosis). Also, some medications used to treat complications of diabetes, such as cholesterol-lowering drugs, may cause liver damage.

On the other hand, some types of liver disease — such as hemochromatosis — increase the risk of diabetes. Also, some medications used to treat liver disease may increase blood sugar levels enough to require treatment. These include steroids and lamivudine (Epivir).

If the latest report is true, it suggests a new explanation for previous reports that Kim’s special train was spotted near the Chinese border, and that the border city of Sinuiju was blocked off, perhaps as a security measure following a mysterious April 2004 explosion in Ryongchon. Various reports attributed to Chinese officials have both admitted and denied that Kim Jong Il would be invited to visit soon. Again emphasizing that you should view this report with skepticism, if it is true, it could mean that Kim Jong-Il is in seriously bad shape:

Diabetes is the most common cause of kidney failure in the United States. High blood sugar and high blood pressure damage the tiny blood vessels that serve as the kidneys’ filters. The kidneys start to leak proteins into the urine while retaining waste products in the blood that should be expelled in urine.

End-stage renal failure occurs when the buildup of wastes begin to sicken the body. The only treatments for kidney failure are dialysis or an organ transplant. Diabetic kidney disease (nephropathy) often goes undetected until significant damage is done, but a special urine test can lead to early diagnosis and treatment.

I was inclined to believe the Chinese denials of this rumored visit, given that China never made much of a secret of Kim’s previous visits. If Kim Jong Il went to China for dialysis or a transplant, however, I would expect China to deny everything.