French doctor treated leader after stroke
Source: Agencies |
December 21, 2011, Wednesday
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A FRENCH neurosurgeon has confirmed that Kim Jong Il had a debilitating stroke in 2008, and described secretly treating the leader while the North Korean public and world remained unaware of his condition.
Dr Francois-Xavier Roux, chief of neurosurgery at Sainte Anne Hospital in Paris, said he was flown to North Korea in August 2008 to examine Kim who was unconscious and "in a bad way" in intensive care at Pyongyang's Red Cross Hospital.
The two-month trip and medical exam gave Roux unparalleled access for a Westerner to North Korea.
North Korean officials first contacted Roux by phone in 1993 after Kim suffered a "small head injury following a horse-riding accident," the doctor said, adding that he never understood why they had sought him out.
Then, three years ago, North Korea contacted Roux again after Kim suffered the stroke. This time officials arranged for him to come to Pyongyang with other French doctors.
"When they came to get me in 2008, I didn't know who I was leaving to see over there," said Roux. "They don't say - they're very secret."
Roux said he was taken to a hospital, handed medical files of anonymous patients, and asked to give a diagnosis and treatment recommendation for each. Most were not in serious trouble, but one file worried him. He insisted on seeing the patient in person. After a few hours of consultation, the local medical team consented. The patient, Roux said, was Kim Jong Il.
"When I arrived he was in intensive care, in a coma, in a bad way," Roux said. "My job was to try and save him from this critical state by talking with the other doctors, by giving medical advice, etc."
Kim was in a life-threatening situation," Roux said.
He said that by the time he returned to France about 10 days later, Kim was conscious and speaking.
Roux said he saw Kim again in September and October for follow-up visits.
Kim wanted to know if he would live normally again, "if he would walk normally again, work normally. He was asking very logical questions."
Roux said the North Korean authorities appeared to have sought a foreign doctor because they needed someone "not emotionally involved."
"My Korean colleagues were disturbed to be making decisions for their leader," he said.
He said Kim appeared to be "profoundly Francophile."
"He wanted to establish political ties with France. He was not hiding that," said Roux. "He also knew French cinema very well. I was pretty surprised.
"He knew French wines pretty well. We were talking about the differences between Bourgogne and Bordeaux, etc."
Roux said Kim Jong Un was a regular visitor to his father's bedside.
Dr Francois-Xavier Roux, chief of neurosurgery at Sainte Anne Hospital in Paris, said he was flown to North Korea in August 2008 to examine Kim who was unconscious and "in a bad way" in intensive care at Pyongyang's Red Cross Hospital.
The two-month trip and medical exam gave Roux unparalleled access for a Westerner to North Korea.
North Korean officials first contacted Roux by phone in 1993 after Kim suffered a "small head injury following a horse-riding accident," the doctor said, adding that he never understood why they had sought him out.
Then, three years ago, North Korea contacted Roux again after Kim suffered the stroke. This time officials arranged for him to come to Pyongyang with other French doctors.
"When they came to get me in 2008, I didn't know who I was leaving to see over there," said Roux. "They don't say - they're very secret."
Roux said he was taken to a hospital, handed medical files of anonymous patients, and asked to give a diagnosis and treatment recommendation for each. Most were not in serious trouble, but one file worried him. He insisted on seeing the patient in person. After a few hours of consultation, the local medical team consented. The patient, Roux said, was Kim Jong Il.
"When I arrived he was in intensive care, in a coma, in a bad way," Roux said. "My job was to try and save him from this critical state by talking with the other doctors, by giving medical advice, etc."
Kim was in a life-threatening situation," Roux said.
He said that by the time he returned to France about 10 days later, Kim was conscious and speaking.
Roux said he saw Kim again in September and October for follow-up visits.
Kim wanted to know if he would live normally again, "if he would walk normally again, work normally. He was asking very logical questions."
Roux said the North Korean authorities appeared to have sought a foreign doctor because they needed someone "not emotionally involved."
"My Korean colleagues were disturbed to be making decisions for their leader," he said.
He said Kim appeared to be "profoundly Francophile."
"He wanted to establish political ties with France. He was not hiding that," said Roux. "He also knew French cinema very well. I was pretty surprised.
"He knew French wines pretty well. We were talking about the differences between Bourgogne and Bordeaux, etc."
Roux said Kim Jong Un was a regular visitor to his father's bedside.
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