TOKYO - A newspaper in Japan reports North Korea has ordered its diplomats abroad to be on standby for an "important announcement."
The paper says it could be about the health of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il. The 66-year-old Kim hasn't been seen in public since the middle of August.
He's failed to show up for the usual appearances on two important national holidays, leading to speculation that he is seriously ill.
Unidentified sources quoted by the Japanese paper, Yomiuri, say the announcement might also be about the North's relations with its South Korean neighbour.
North Korea has threatened to break off relations with the South if its new conservative government continues what the North says is a policy of reckless confrontation.
