Kim Shuns Indonesian Delegates for Health Reasons

Earlier this month, a scheduled meeting between Kim Jong Il and a former Indonesian president was cancelled at the last minute by North Korean officials citing Kim’s poor health, according to a report carried by Japan’s Jiji Press on Sunday.

A delegation from Indonesia’s opposition PDI-P Party led by former President Megawati Sukarnoputri was in Pyongyang between September 12th and 16th.

Jiji, citing one of the delegates, explained, “Former President Megawati had planned to meet Kim Jong Il, even preparing a gift for him.”

However, members of the delegation were apparently notified shortly before the meeting that it had been cancelled due to Kim’s poor health. Instead, they met with Supreme People’s Assembly Chairman Choi Tae Bok and SPA Presidium Chairman Kim Yong Nam.

The story is corroborated by the fact that the North Korean media did not report on the activities of Kim Jong Il for nearly two weeks between his appearance at an art festival on the 11th and meeting Laotian President Choummaly Sayasone on the 23rd.