SEOUL, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- South Korea's intelligence service Thursday was investigating reports Koh Young-hee, the ailing wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, has died.
``We are currently trying to confirm whether she is really dead or not,'' an NIS official told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity. He declined to answer further questions.
The NIS's comment comes in response to a report by Cho Gab-je, a high-profile conservative journalist. Cho claimed intelligence officials in South Korea, Japan and the United States had reached the common conclusion that 51-year-old Koh recently died of breast cancer.
In an article posted on his Web site Tuesday, Cho said the agencies were assessing the effect Koh's death would have on Kim's leadership.
He claimed Koh, who has two children with Kim, had a stabilizing influence on the North Korean leader.
Koh reportedly visited Paris recently to receive treatment for the cancer, which she has been battling for the past 10 years.
