October 11, 2011 09:12
Two North Korean medical teams in charge of looking after leader Kim Jong-il's health were secretly trained in brain disease-related rehabilitation in Singapore last year, the Kyodo news agency reported Monday.
The teams "consisted mostly of women who looked about 30 years old. The Singaporean government accepted the North's request for their training and let them enter Singapore," it quoted a source as saying.
The two North Korean medical teams received a month of intensive training at the internal medicine and surgery departments of a Singaporean hospital.
The North chose Singapore because healthcare is considered the best in Southeast Asia, the news agency added. The North has an embassy in Singapore.
Kim had surgery after a stroke in August 2008. He lost weight dramatically and has had trouble using his left hand since. He missed a military parade on the 60th anniversary of the regime on Sept. 9 that year.
This year, two French doctors reportedly visited the North and examined Kim.
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