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South Korea's Prime Minister yesterday ordered top officials to stop disclosing intelligence on North Korea unnecessarily amid rampant speculation over leader Kim Jong Il's health, an official said.
Kim's health has been the focus of frenzied media speculation since his failure to appear at last week's key national celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of his country's foundation.
South Korean officials say the 66-year-old Kim suffered a stroke and has undergone brain surgery.
"Political uncertainty inside North Korea has increased due to reports on Kim Jong Il's health problem and the people and the entire world have been curious" about the issue, Prime Minister Han Seung-soo said during a weekly Cabinet meeting in Seoul.
"At this point, no one knows how the situation will develop," Han said.
"We shouldn't carelessly predict anything."
