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N. Korea Biopic May Signal Kim's Final Act

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 16, 2009 3:37 AM CDT

(Newser) – North Korea has started making a documentary honoring Kim Jong-il's life, leading many to suspect that the leader's final chapter is looming, Bloomberg reports. The leader, 67, is thought to have suffered a stroke last year and recent reports say he is now battling terminal pancreatic cancer. Analysts believe Kim, who considers himself a film expert, may want to take charge of the project himself while he still can.

The documentary, I Will Add Glory to Korea, will give a "comprehensive picture" of Kim's "revolutionary exploits," according to North Korea's state-run media. The North Korean regime launched a similar series of documentaries on Kim's father, Kim Il-Sung, a year before his death in 1994. Intelligence reports suggest that Kim Jong-il is now preparing to transfer power to his son.

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (1)]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il claps while visiting Taedonggang Tile Factory in North Korea. (AP Photo/KRT via APTN)

A visitor looks at a collage made of pictures of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il at a unification observation post near the border village of Panmunjom. (AP Photo/ Lee Jin-man)

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il arrives at the 15th anniversary memorial for his late father, Kim Il-sung, in Pyongyang, North Korea, earlier this month. (AP Photo/KRT via APTN)

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I think Kim Jong-Il may have decided to make the final cut of the documentary outlining his life while he is still physically able to do so. He considers himself an expert on movie making.
- Yang Moo Jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul

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