South Korean media are reporting that the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has life-threatening pancreatic cancer.
The reports, which quote Chinese and South Korean intelligence sources, have not been officially confirmed. Mr Kim was widely thought to have suffered a stroke last year, but there has been no official confirmation of this either.
He looked gaunt during a public appearance last Wednesday at a memorial for his father and state founder, Kim Il-sung.
Mr Kim took power in 1994 when his father died at the age of 82. His health raises questions about succession and who will control his country's nuclear weapon programmes.
The North conducted its second nuclear test on 25 May, which prompted United Nations sanctions aimed at cutting off the state's arms trade and one of its few sources of hard cash.
