Wife of ex-N.K. leader got hospital treatment in Germany: sources

Published : Sept 8, 2012 - 10:50 Updated : Sept 8, 2012 - 10:57

BERLIN -- Kim Ok, the rumored fourth wife of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, was treated for a cervical disk problem and coxitis at a hospital in Berlin in May, sources here said Saturday.
Kim, 48, arrived in the German capital via Beijing and stayed at a hotel while receiving treatment at the Charite hospital, according to multiple South Korean residents here, who asked not to be named.
Kim, a former secretary to Kim Jong-il, is said to have started playing first lady in 2004 after the late leader's wife Ko Yong-huidied of breast cancer.
Ko was the mother of the current North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, who took power after his father Kim Jong-il died last December.
The sources said Kim Ok was seen traveling in a Mercedes-Benz car with a North Korean diplomat accompanying her as an interpreter.
Before Kim Jong-il's death, she accompanied him on his visits to China and Russia, and attended the former leader's meetings with South Korean business representatives.

(Yonhap News)