North Korean Leader Kim Jong-il’s Spouse in Critical Condition

According to the report released by Sankei Shinbun yesterday, Ko Young-hee, the spouse of Kim Jong-il, head of North Korea and chairman of the North’s National Defense Commission, was wounded in a traffic accident late September and is currently in serious condition.

Sankei reported by quoting a well-reputed source in North Korea that 50-year-old Ko underwent an accident while riding in a car and was severely injured in the head, however, the actual cause of accident has not been found. Ko, a Korean resident in Japan, became the second wife of Chairman Kim Jong-il after having taken a repatriation ship from Japan to North Korea with her family in early 1960s and worked as a dancer in Mansudae performance team.

The press also reported that the North recently has been progressing works for the idolization of Ko Young-hee, and her two sons, Kim Jung-chul and Kim Jung-un, who are newly expected as successors of Chairman Kim Jung-il.

parkwj@donga.com