SEOUL, (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong-il  has pancreatic cancer and the illness is life-threatening,  South Korean broadcaster YTN said last night based on  information gathered by Chinese and South Korean intelligence  sources.

Kim’s health is one of the most closely guarded secrets in  the reclusive communist state. Kim, 67, was widely thought to  have suffered a stroke last year, but there has never been  official confirmation.

Kim looked gaunt during a public appearance last Wed-nesday  at a memorial for his father and state founder Kim Il-sung.

Kim’s health raises questions about succession in Asia’s only communist dynasty and who will control its nuclear weapons  programmes.

The North conducted its second nuclear test on May 25,  which was met by U.N. sanctions aimed at cutting off the  impoverished state’s lucrative arms trade and one of its few  sources of hard cash. South Korean officials have said the North’s recent  military grandstanding that also included missiles launches and  threats to attack the South is linked to efforts to pave the  way for Kim’s youngest son to take over.

Kim took power in 1994 when his father died at the age of  82. He assumed the title of general secretary of the Workers’  Party and chairman of the National Defence Commission, but has  never taken the title of president.