North Korea's leader has pancreatic cancer - YTN

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has pancreatic cancer, South Korea's YTN said on Monday citing unnamed Chinese and Korean intelligence sources.

MOSCOW, July 13 (RIA Novosti) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has pancreatic cancer, South Korea's YTN said on Monday citing unnamed Chinese and Korean intelligence sources.

The ailing leader has made just two public appearances since reportedly suffering a stroke last August. Most recently Kim was shown on the country's Central Television on July 8 looking gaunt at a ceremony in Pyongyang to mark the death of his father, Kim Il-sung.

The report comes days after Japan's TBS television said Kim had been diagnosed with a "serious disorder" of the pancreas.

According to TBS he is receiving treatment at his home in Wonsan, on North Korea's southeastern coast.

South Korean Unification Ministry, Chun Hae-sung, was cited by Yonhap as saying "I have no information" on the reports.

The 67-year-old leader is expected to hand over power to his youngest son Kim Jong-un.

Kim Jong-un, now 25, was born to Kim Jong-il's third wife, Ko Yong-hi, who died of breast cancer at the age of 51 in 2004. According to Yonhap, the youngest of Kim's three sons, Jong-un was educated at the International School of Berne and is a fan of NBA basketball.