By DPA
Seoul : North Korean leader Kim Jong Il underwent an angioplasty in mid-May to treat a coronary artery after suffering a heart attack, a newspaper reported Friday.
German specialists from the Berlin Heart Centre travelled to Pyongyang to treat Kim, 65, determining that he had had a heart attack but did not require surgery and instead performed the angioplasty, reported the online newspaper The Daily NK, which is produced in Seoul by North Korean exiles. It cited an "inside"Japanese source well acquainted with North Korea for its report.
Kim was able to return to work a day after the procedure, the source told the newspaper.
After examining Kim, the doctors determined that he also suffered from kidney hypertrophy, which is an enlargement of the kidney, and symptoms of diabetes but, aside from these conditions, his health was not bad, the report said.
The Berlin Heart Centre confirmed that six of its doctors travelled to Pyongyang from May 11-19 but only to treat three labourers, a nurse and a scientist, The Daily HK said.
South Korean media reported at the beginning of June that Kim had made his first public appearance in a month. Kim's absence from the public eye had caused speculation about his health.