kim il sung would watch young children do adorable things and laugh. arch center decided happiness brings good health. ♪ and a more sinister technique. blood transfusions from 20-year-olds. kim says those selected to give blood to the father of the nature were fed special nutrition before donating. current leader kim jong un has been compared physically to his grandfather, a comparison that is strongly encouraged according to dr. kim. "kim il sung is still popular in north korea because he was the founder of the country. so in order to remind people that it's still kim il sung's country they want kim jong un to look like him." dr. kim says kim jong un may have inherited diabetes and heart problems from his father and his grandfather, but she's concerned that his issues may be even more serious. he's only in his early 30s and already he's disappeared for five weeks and returned with a cane. north korea itself is saying nothing new about its leader's health. paula hancocks, cnn, seoul. >>> all right. let's shift to weather now. the remnants of hurricane g

and he says that he remembers his struggles against the japanese occupation. >> i feel greatness to kim il-sung by visiting this place. all of us have to uphold the leadership of kim jong-un. >> the anniversary is happening amid rumors of the heath of their leader, he has not been seen in public in over a month. and he has been seen walking with a limp. but they say nothing unusual is going on. >> they are working behind the scenes. they miss him a lot. that's why people say they miss him a lot. they wait for him. >> kim jong-un might be out of sight, but it seems that life continues as usual here. he belongs to a dynasty that has ruled this nation for almost seven decades. on this anniversary his family's presence continues to loom large. >> the government of cameroon says 27 hostages have now been freed. the group includes ten chinese nationals. the wife of cameroon's deputy prime minister was also released. she was abducted by the armed group in july. five years of violence in northern nigeria has forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. it was once a place of refuge but

, passed away in 2011. >> we were taken to ki kim il-sun il-sung's birthplace. >> i pay memory to kim il-sung by visiting this place. >> the anniversary is held with rumors of the health of their leader. kim jong-un has not been seen in over a month, and video aired on state tv showed him walking with a liverpool. they say that nothing unusual is going on. >> he does not appear, but he is working behind the scenes. people, they need him a lot. that's why on the news, on the tv, they need him a lot. >> reporter: kim jong-un might be out of sight, but it seems that life continues as usual here. he belongs to a dynasty that has ruled this nation for almost seven decades. on this anniversary his family's presence continues to loom large. al jazeera. pyongyang. >> coming up on al jazeera. boost kneans go to the polls. 20 years after the war ended this country is still divided long ethnic and religious lines. >> and protesters in hong kong leave a lasting impression that could change how people see their city. >> welcome back to al jazeera. there is intense fighting in syria where kurdish f

kim il sun said he'd watch young children do adorable things and laugh. enter decided happiness brings good health. and a more sinister technique. blood transfusions from 20-year-olds. kim said those selected to give blood to the father of the nation, were fed special nutrition before donating. kuj has been compared to his grandfather, a comparison that has been strongly encouraged, according to dr. kim. >> kim il-sung is still color, because he was the founder of the country. so in order to remind people it's still his country, they want kim jong-un to look like him. he may have inherited diabetes and heart problems from his father and grandfather. he's only in his early 30s and already he's disappeared for five weeks and returned with a cane. north korea itself is saying nothing new about its leader's health. paula hancocks, cnn, seoul. >>> australia is scrapping a plan to segregate people wearing burqas when they visit parliament this month. eshler this month, officials said women with burqas would have to sit behind glass in a special gallery. now visi

and who continue to run this country ace political life. >> it was 69 years when kim jong-il became leader. and like his father, kim jong-il passed away in 2011. >> we were taken to his bier place. where people til still come after all these years. >> she's 80 years old and said he remembers his struggles against the japanese occupation. >> i remember and chemical rate kim hug sung in this place. >> kim jong-un has not been seen in over a month, and tv shows him walking with a liverpool. but they say nothing unusual is going on. >> people are sad that he is not here, but he is working hyped the scenes. they're meeting a lot. this is why he's not on the news, the tv. >> kim jong-un might be out of sight but it seems that life continues as usual here. he belongs to a dynasticy that has ruled this nation for seven decades and on this anniversary his family's presence continues to loom large. >> well, let's get more on that weekend of protests, which is under way in the u.s. town of ferguson in the state of missouri. we're in st. louis and we're live from there. what sort of turnout are

what's more serious is i think kim jong-un was artificially made to look like kim il-sung. dr. m suspects hormone notes so make him look like his grandfather, the man mem m north koreans have a found memory of. she also believes kim jong-un's face is swollen due to painkillers and his reappearance may be temporary, forced bety intense worldwide scrutiny on his disappearance. there were more news bulletins throughout the day, each of them showing kim jong-un seemingly back at work. this was probably not just for an international audience but also a domestic audience, trying to show their leader is even if not in complete health seemingly in complete control. john and michaela back to you. >> paula hancocks, what an interesting look. >> the reclusive nature of the nation invites conspiracy theories. >> absolutely. where dough you sit on that side? >> always on the side of the conspiracy. >> so yesterday you weren't here but i got to take our viewers on a personal journey to learn more about my roots. my story took me to jamaica and john i wanted to bring you something from. there

jong-un became north korea's third supreme leader in december 2011 following the death of his father kim jong-il. three years later, experts continue to keep a close eye on his regime. >>> brian meyers is an expertinn south korea and shared insight into the meaning of kim jong-un unexplained absence. >> well those health problems really were genuine. no doubt about that. there was nothing during his absence to suggest that he had loosened or lost his hold on power in any way. kim jong-il, his father, was also absent from the public eye for weeks at a time. the north korean people are quite used to this sort of thing. the propaganda has been exploiting his convalescence praising him for working to hard disspite his discomfort. his hold on power is secure. on the other hand he is turning into a kind of a difficult person for the regime to glorify. the one thing they could applause bli praise him for was youth, strength, vitality. now even that is gone. it remains to be seen whether he will be able to insire the north korean people the way his father did. well, this is really busyness as usual for

. >> reporter: after his father kim jong-il passed away in 201 2011. >> we were teen kim kim il-sung's birthplace. this man is 80 years old and says he remembers his struggle against the japanese occupation. >> all of us remember kim jong-un. >> reporter: the anniversary is happening amid rumors of the health of the leader. he has not been seen in public in over a month, and video aired on state tv in september showed him walking with a liverpool. they say that nothing unusual is going on. >> people are sad that doesn't appear, but he's working behind the scenes. thewe need him a lot. the news on the tv, people there, they need him a lot. >> reporter: kim jong-un may be out of sight, but it seems that life continues as usual. he belongs to a dynasty that has ruled for seven decades. and his family continues to loom large. >> we meet the girls who fled the war in syria only forced to marry men twice their age. >>> and hostages captured by boko haram are finally set free. >>> and we have action from saturday's grand prix qualifying session coming up. and surprising talks with the most in

. >>> one north korean leader kim jong il, a foreign doctor operated on kim jong il to remove assist from -- a cyst from his angle. he earlier appeared limping with a cain. >>> those directly affected by that earthquake in august can apply for earthquake recovery and until last neat only they were eligible for the emergency management agency otherwise known as fema. >>> highway 4 is slow and we will go to it right away and we have slow traffic on highway 4 and as we drive through we had an earlier accident on the bypass and people are behind schedule and traffic will be busy as you drive through. as you go through the bay bridge, there is a 15 to 20 minutes drive and traffic is moving a long okay and we don't have any meaning problems yet anyway. so you get a good night's sleep because we will be busy. >>> in cans chicago -- kansas city, it is cool in the 50s, brian flores talked about that, there is no rain in the forecast and everything is find for game 6 if it even goes. temperatures here are also in the 40s could you let me in, barbecue, pam. what is it, gates is another one, 64

state media has released kim jong il about the health of the leader. they show kim jong il visiting a new housing project today. he had not been there since he attended a concert with his wife weeks ago. he was either six or there had been a shift in power. >>> election day is just three weeks from today and in san jose, voters will be dealing with more. he took his bus to your and one of the big differences, he was against the controversy reform plan and richardo supports it. >> we will stop guaranteeing police officers and firefighters guarantee it in their 70s, because we can't afford it anymore. >> they are supported and it includes police and firefighters and we did ask him how he feels about being labeled. >> i think the great mayors in the city have been able to bring both city and other communities took the that is what i intend to give . they are both vying to replace mayor chuck read who is termed out in office. >>> neil cash cary is being criticized by some voters. now it shows a child nearly drowning as he reaches in to save him. he has betr

kim jong-il the father and then kim jong-un. this is interesting.here are ramifications about what the power structure is if he is really, really ill. >> let's not forget there are three americans there whose fate hangs in the balance, too. peter brooks, always a pleasure to talk to you. we'll watch this, as you said, they're several hours ahead of us we'll be finding out more news as it happens there. >>> 44 minutes after the hour. so we now know more about the malaysia airlines flight that the u.s. said was shot down over ukraine. new tragic details about what these passengers may have seen and may have known before the plane went down. an unprecedented program arting busithat partners businesses with universities across the state. for better access to talent, cutting edge research, and state of the art facilities. and you pay no taxes for ten years. from biotech in brooklyn, to next gen energy in binghamton, to manufacturing in buffalo... startup-ny has new businesses popping up across the state. see how startup-ny can help your business grow at

she's certainly the most capable of kim jong-il's acknowledged children but because of the nature of the this regime, i don't think she's the one in charge. if you're going to look for people in charge, you should be looking at the generals in their 60s and 70s. >> we see mixed signals from north korea. they send the surprise delegation to south korea which is obviously something potentially positive but then there's an exchange of gunfire along the border. what do you make of that? >> north koreans often do this. they have had one over-arching goal and that is to govern the entire peninsula. they mix their tactics all the time. so that's not strange. the important thing is that they have not given up their dream of basically governing the entire korean peninsula. >> gordon chang, thank you to help us understand what is going on. >>> still ahead, we move to the ebola battle, especially in spain. it's growing more and more difficult for a medical worker who has the virus. >>> and isis fighters make advances in kobani as reinforcements arrive right near the turkish border. [ male annou

. >> translator: kim jong-un came here and kim jong-il came here eight times. now our dear leader provides us with necessary fertilizers and he says we should try to be more scientific. if we produce more than 10 tons we will be rewarded. >> says he is now able to sell the produce he grows in his garden. tra. >> translator: thanks oour dear leader, our countries show great development in the rural area. we have electricity and all farming is conducted with machines. >> the landscape is beautiful here but there is much we cannot see. the workers tell us they're dirty and they don't want to be filmed but we're not sure what is going on. and when we had a chance to film a field that was not part of the tour a man screamed to this old lady to get out. the world food program says that hunger and malnutrition are common here especially among mothers and children. overall food production has improved but is still lower than ideal. >> translator: compared to previous years the production has increased significantly. north korea needs 5.4 million tons of food to feed it

elationships with kim jong-il , sometimes it is very difficult. certainly building relationships with north korea is a bit of an oxymoron. when youhave to do play with people you fundamentally disagree with and people you would not necessarily invite home for the holidays is you have very specific objectives in dealing with them. yes you need to build relationships to help fulfill >> with respect to iraq, secretary clinton called me upstairs and i thought she wanted another memo on north korea. i thought about it and decided i would do it. >> if you look at u.s. policy with iraq and north korea today, neither great. do you see your times in those positions of successes? peoplell let other decide whether it is a success and failure. problem whenhad a it was clear that we could not keep things moving because the north koreans would not allow any kind of verification regime. others want to blame about the fact that the negotiations ended. i will let other people decide about that. >> chris hill himself went through a busy time. just as busy and so ma

what's more serious is that kim jong-un was artificially made to look more that way to look more like kim il sun. they think hormone shots to make him look more like the founder who many people have favorable memories of. and his reappearance may be temporary, forced by the intense, worldwide scrutiny on his disappearance. >> analysts i've spoken to say they're not surprised that he has turned up again. it was widely assumed he did have health issues. errol? >> all right, paula hancocks live for us in seoul, south korea. the mystery continues just after 4:00 p.m. there. zane? >> the world continues to speculate about what is happening with kim jong-un. >>> a major road in hong kong that has been blocked is now open to traffic, after police dismantled the demonstrators's barricades. all the action happened on the edge of the main protest site. police did not try to clear out the activists, but this is the second straight day authorities have encroached on their encampments. police with shields in hand were there to keep the protesters from getting in the way of the teardown. >> now for the la

there's a story about a new book release, collection of kim il-sung's antedotes.ed by unearthal crimes in u.s." the recent secret service scandal that refers to former secret service director julia pearson as "he" and says a man with a dagger crossed the white house fence while the president was giving a speech and "everyone was not aware of what was going on." it punctuates its report with america is in a cesspool of crime. they lean less on fact and more on fan fiction. lately other than flower deliveries they haven't had much to talk about. according to the kcna, the last time kim jong-un a public appearance was more than a month ago when he took in a music concert. he loved it and they love loved him "he congratulated the band on their successful performance. he waved back at the enthusiastic cheers from the performers and the audience." but that concert was the last time that he made a public appearance. and since then, the limping leader has missed a run of political events and celebration that is he would normally attend, including a visit to the mausoleum

. >> kim jong un came here and kim jong-il came here tight times. now our dear leader provide us with necessary fertilisers and said we should try to be more scientific. our dear leader said if we produce more than 10 tonnes, we'll be rewarded. >> new they are able to sell the produce grown in the garden. >> translation: thanks to our dear leader, our country has great development. we have electricity and farming conducted with machines. >> the landscape is beautiful here. there is much we cannot see. >> we are not allowed to film the workers, because they are dirty and they don't want to be filmed. we are not sure what is going on. >> when we had the chance to film a field not part of a tour, a man screened at an old lady to get out. >> the world health organisation says that hunger and malnutrition is common, especially among mothers and children. international humanitarian agencies say food production improved but is lower than ideal. >> translation: compared to previous years, production improved. north korea needs 5.4 million tonnes. producing

as for our leader of kim jong-il, every has to know it and follow it. that's wher why we need to study it. >> reporter: north korea is one of the most isolated countries in the world, but it does not stop children who are taught to value independence, self reliance above all else. al jazeera, pyongyang, north korea. >> dwindling smokers means a decline in the tobacco market. but there is an unlikely resurgence. a plant known for causing disease is now being used to cure them, and so much more. >> reporter: kentucky's autumn tobacco harvest has changed little over the centuries. they still use the massive leaves to dry in curing barns like this. these leaves won't be smoked. the often vilified plant is being used for research from new fuels to the treatment of ebola virus. >> tobacco is not just an evil weed that causes cancer. we can actually use it to make bio pharmaceuticals that are anti-cancer, for example. >> reporter: tobacco is susceptible to like 80% of known viruses, so scientists inject viruses into the plant in place of a human host and then

will kym jong-il -- kim jong un make an appearance after being out of sight for weeks. and we'll get a look at the generosity of strangers in iraq. two people are under arrest. the city has been on edge since last night when another african-american teenager was shot and kill by a white police officer. jason carroll is in st. louis, missouri for us. he joins us live via phone. we're hearing that this police officer fired 17 shots at this fleeing suspect. how does the police department there justify 17 shots? >> reporter: well, first of all they justify it in the following manner. they say what happened was wednesday night when the shooting took place with this 18-year-old, that meyers they say, fired at the officer first. that they say, that meyers actually fired three shots at the officer and the officer was then forced to return fire. and so that is why they say the shooting was justified. of course, an investigation will take place to find out exactly what happened there. in the meantime, what has happened this evening is what we've seen is a candlelight vigil for me

what has been going on since 2010 in connection with this transition from kim jong il to kim jong un,ppen. these people don't think of themselves as living forever. they think they have are very short life span they can do something serious. melissa: thanks to all of you. not sure we solve it but we did our best. back to the market's wild swings for stocks, investors feeling when did. let's go to nicole petallides on the floor of the stock exchange. are you ready to go home for the week? quite a week for you. nicole: i want to see what swings we had for the next hour-and-a-half. someone put on the tv and said the dow is moving eight points, it was up 100 points, down 50 points so we have already passed a wild day, doesn't appear that way. that being said throughout this week we had a wild week, a few hundred point day, 50, 16 days in a row. here are the swing for the week, the dow is down 2%, the nasdaq down 4.4%. and the airlines down 5 points, and that may be the economic story. we have boring trading for a while, wild swings and volatility, and that being said, down 6 points. and e

to it's a hospital where his late father, the former leader kim jong-il and kim ill son, his grandfather. he's believed to be there with his wife and sister. this is what we're hearing from the defense minister. of course everything is wrapped in secrecy in north korea, no one saying for sure what they think has happened because, quite frankly, no one knows for sure what has happened but the assumption is definitely now that he has health issues. it's been, what we've been hearing from experts here in south korea, that these rumors and speculation of a coupe, the fact he'd been depose bid the military were probably farfetched and probably unrealistic. they believe head had health issues. and we've seen him. he has been limping over july and august. we heard in september that north korean state media said he was suffering discomfort. so they've effectively admitted that there is a problem. don? >> what can you tell us about this exchange of fire between the north and the south? >> this is quite a significant incident. it's certainly a step up from what we saw tuesday where there was an ex

when the world started speculating whether kim jong-il hand's removed from power, the government releasedthis photos of kim. and the swedish government helped facilitate foul -- fowle release. >> breaking news. serious news from baghdad. mortar shells have hit the green zone. no reports of anybody hurt but this is the third time this month we received word of an attack on this heavily fortified area. the green zone, an area in central baghdad, protected by 15-foot concrete walls and rings of bash evidence wire -- barbed wire. it's now home to the billion dollar u.s. embassy and iraqi government buildings. islamic state fighters have been pushing toward the capital but we have no indication of who may be behind the reported attack. again, more temperatures a hitting the green zone in baghdad, according to reports from a local. more on this story as news develops. >>> american weapons reportedly ending up in terrorist hands. i know you've heard that before. enough it's apparently happened again. we have new video from islamic state militants they may show some u.s. display airdrop -- u.s. s

today north korea celebrated the anniversary of the founding of the leading party, but the leader kim jong il nowhere to be found. there is speculation something is wrong with kim. not seeing publicly since the beginning of september. the fact he missed the country's biggest holiday is fueling the talk that something is not right. >>> police in virginia continue to search for missing college student, hannah graham. now they may have new evidence linking the man suspected much abducting her to a second missing students. jesse matthews already behind bars, but the police say they have forensic evidence linking him to another murder. and they seized the taxi that he was driving back in 2009. no sign of graham who has been missing since september 13. >>> to business on a friday and the best thing we can tell but this week on wall street is that it is other. the dow taking another big hit dropping 115 points. the nasdaq down and the s&p lost 22 on the day. the worst day for those since 2012. >>> and dairy queen the latest to come under attack. a data breach. and it exposed credit card information

she is the most exaiblg o capabe acknowledged children of kim jong-il.sheefs eveshe's even younger thm jong-un. this is a society that convenient rates older persons. >> this unease could be problematic for the world. let's put a pollyanna look to it. could i.t. be that this is a -- could it be that this is a move towards more openness to the world? >> it could be and if it were because they've got new leadership in charge that should tell us that not only are there new people involved in running north korea, you've got a new regime. not only a one man regime but collective leadership. that's uncertainty. there are a lot of adults who have been trying to kill each other over the last few years and some of them have nukes and biological agents. >> how long will we have to wait before we know what's going on? >> i wish i knew. they have to produce him sometime in the next two or three weeks. if not, they've got to understand that there is a serious problem this the regime that can't be pain erd over. >> thank you for being with us. >> thank you. >> the nob

that was the assessment of kim jong-il. they were logical in their own context. understood what they had to do to stay in power but they had these psychological disorders and it's entirely possible that kim jong-un has inherited them or is going through similar problems themselves. >> there is quote no problem with kim jong-un's health, an important indication may come this friday when north korea celebrates the founding of the ruling worker's party, all eyes on those ceremonies for a sighting of kim jong-un, wolf. watch out for friday. it's a big ceremony in pyongyang. >> if he's not there, that's huge a huge development. there's also speculation that the lifestyle of not only kim jong-un but the kim dynasty contributes to health problems. >> they are notorious for basically a destructive lifestyle. kim jong-un and his father kim jong-il are known to be very heavy smokers and drinkers and known for lavish parties. combine all of that with the stress they must go through in that paranoid regime, health problems would definitely of course flow. >> as someone who h

kim jong-un's longest absence from public view since he took over the country when his father, kim jong-ild. him, riding a horse, complete with sound effects. kim, seemingly operating a tank. saluting columns of north korean soldiers at a parade. overseeing military exercises all in an effort to project both the strength of north korea's military, and the military's own devotion to their supreme leader. their public appearances do not just reflect strength but also benevolence, here, he bends down to take the hand of a toddler, more doting uncle than dictator. and then, there is the baby-faced leader laughing at the amusement park. and of course, the controversial visit by the nba star, dennis rodman. but it is clearly this picture here on the stage that gets a lot of attention and fuelling reports he is ill. the video was released recently, acknowledging kim is suffering from quote, "discomfort." there are theories of gout and the ankle problems because of the gaining weight. some believe his little sister could be running the country but nothing could be confirmed. to north korea watcher

she is the most capable of the acknowledged children of kim jong-il, but because it is a male-dominated regime she is not going to be given that position. she's even younger than kim jong-un. this is a system which venerates elderly people. you're not going to have some 70-year-old general taking orders from a 27-year-old female. >> i know you're alarmed that this unease could be problematic for the world. but let's put a more pollyanna side to it. you mentioned to the number two. he went to south korea for meetings last week. they acknowledge for the first time that they have these labor detention camps. could it be that this is a move towards mother openness to the rest of the world? >> well, it could be. and if it were, because they have new leadership in charge, that should tell us that not only are there new people involved in running north korea, but you got a new regime. you no longer have the one-man system. you might have more collective leadership. that's a lot of uncertainty. you got to rememberrel there are a lot of adult who is have been trying to kill each other over the l

his father kim jung il about 11 years ago disappeared for 40 something days and not every number of the kim family, the leaders have attended these anniversaries. it does as your report said raise questions about exactly what's going on. this was the 69th anniversary of the korean workers party. it's a big deal and he was expected to show up. when he was last seen he was limping. diplomats who saw him in the past year said he looked larger than on tv. bad complexion and sweating and breathing heavily. any instability is alarming because they are so heavily armed with missiles and chemical and biological weapons and artillery aimed at south korea. we can't conclude anything except that we have to watch it. partake us inside the white house. you have served for the nsc during the bush administration. if you are in the white house right now, what are you looking for and what are the conversations like behind the scenes? >> i imagine in the situation room in the basement of the west wing, there is probably a deputies meeting or a principals meeting and the secretaries of defense or their de

kim il jeong does similar tasks for her brother and handles government policy. >> clear's an effort too becoming somebody who is important within the system. >> but as for handling all of the stress and palace intrigue of being the supreme leader. >> if in fact, she is rung the country as someone in their early to mid-20s, to me, that is quite alarming. it means there's something seriously wrong with kim jong-un and there is some sort of void they're trying desperately to fill. >> and the mystery surrounding his brother is deepening. kim jong-un hasn't been seen publicly in more than a month. kim is not in the capital city. one analyst says he could be north of pyongyang in one of three different compounds used by the rule ruling elite and there is one possible. >> this summer kim jong-un spent a lot of time over here. he observed military practices out on the bay and he even had military practices take place right off the beach in front of his family home. >> now all eyes are on a big event this friday, will kim jong-un show up at the anniversary of the founding of the ruling workers'

and guidance department, ogd, a shadowy, old-boy network tied closely to kim's father, the late kim jong-iltrol comes from a defector that spoke to me on the phone from south korea. he was an insider, a propagandist for kim jong-il who defected a decade ago. he said he has sources inside the regime. the organization and guidance department handles surveillance, the appointments and purges of top leaders. >> it keeps the files on everyone. that definitely makes it a very powerful and dangerous organization. >> reporter: and he says while they were loyal to his father, members of the ogd don't trust the younger kim. >> translator: they are calling the shots. and not the words of one man they do not know. basically they ear no longer loyal to the ruling king's word. >> reporter: north korea is one of the world's most closed societies. but kim's absence raises questions. >> if that group was in charge, would this regime be on the verge of collapse? >> it would be in a much more serious shape. then you would have power struggle as being the basic dynamic behind the regime, opposed to conducting

> reporter: the organization and guidance department, ogd, a shadowy old boy network tied to kim's father, ilis in control comes from the defector speaking to me on the phone from south korea, who was an insider of il who defected a year ago, having highly placed sources in the regime who he spoke with in recent days. the guidance department has enormous power, handles surveillance, appointments, and purmgs of the top leaders. >> keeping files on everything, and that makes it a powerful and dangerous organization. >> reporter: saying while they were loyal to his father, members of the ogd do not trust the younger kim. >> translator: they are calling the shots and not the words of one man they do not know. basically, they are no longer loyal to the ruling king's word. >> reporter: north korea is one of the world east most closed society. cnn has no way to confirm claims, but there's absence raising questions. >> if the group was in charge, would they be on collapse or in danger of it? >> in a much more serious shape because then you would have power struggle as the basic dynamic behind the reg

according to the personal doctor to his grandfather and familiar with the medical history of his father kim jong-ile said both suffered diabetes, heart problems and stress. "there are a lot of psychological problems he inherited" she tells me "and there's a history of obesity. but what's more serious i think he was artificially made to look that way to look like kim ill soon. she suspects he has hormone shots. she also believe kim jong-un's face is swollen due to painkillers and his reappearance may be temporary, forced by the intense worldwide scrutiny on his disappearance. there were more news bulletins throughout the day than they usually are, each showing motos of kim jong-un seemingly back at work not just for an international audience but also a domestic audience to show the people of north korea that their leader, even if he's not complete health, is seamingly in complete control. >>> still to come, blood of jihad. that's the name of a stunning new propaganda video that shows how far terrorists are willing to go on the battlefield. up next, reveal not guilty details about the groups tactic a

this hospital is the same hospital where his father, the late kim jong-il and his grandfather, treated as well. both had many illnesses during their lifetime the latest guest from the south korean defense minister. no one knows for sure where he is. it is widely issued here in korea that he has health issues there have been rumor and speculation there may have been a coup, he may have been deposed from power from the military. most experts say that's not likely they believe kim jong-un might still be in control and calling the shots but of course they don't know exactly what's wrong with him or how ill he is. but the fact is, it has been five weeks now since we've seen him. don? >> let's talk about the exchange of gunfire between north and south korea. how serious was this exchange, paula? >> reporter: well, to be honest, this is most serious incident that i've seen in four years. it was serious. there were certain activists sending balloons over the boarder to north korea. they were filled with 200,000 leafletses which they wanted north korean residents to read to find out what their

his father, kim jong il and his grandfather had been treat there had in the past.s the assumption that the south korean government is making. of course, they put caveats before that, as anybody does, when you're talking about north korea. quite frankly, we don't know for sure. officials here in the south, at least, assume it's a health issue we're dealing with here, not a coup. that's something i've heard replicated from many experts in this country as well. most people assume that he is still in power. whether or not he is actually calling the shots at this point, whether he is too ill to call the shots they don't know. the rumors of a coup have been downplayed by pretty much everyone i've spoken to. most notably because last weekend -- in fact, this time last week, we saw a very high-level delegation come to seoul. number two, number three and number four came last week, a very significant meeting. that was unlikely to happen, according to experts unless the number one, kim jong un, was still in control. >> there's been a lot of speculation, as we mentioned. numb

un became leader of north korea after his father, kim jong-il, died in 2011. >>> an attorney for the family of ja hai mcmath says tests show the teen is not brain-dead. she went into cardiac arrest following surgery at children's hospital oakland. the alameda county coroner issued a death certificate for her ten months ago. her family then moved the 13-year-old to a new jersey facility where she has been kept on life support. they claim tests detected brain activity last week. >> what comes next is to prove to everybody that she is alive so that she can get help. because nobody wants to help anybody that's dead. >> her family does admit the teenager suffered severe brain damage. their attorneys hope to have a court hearing next thursday. >>> a broken water main in san francisco's bayview district created a huge mess overnight. several homes were flooded as streets turned into rivers. bridge news reporter matt keller has more. >> reporter: the trouble started bubbling over just after midnight on key street near key avenue. a 12 inch water main ruptured, sending millions of gallons of

he merging from obscurity as the untested leader after the death of his father, kim jong il three yearsgo, he has demonstrated a ruthless style of leadership, purging half of his top military advisors, having his uncle executed for alleged treason and reportedly eliminating an old girlfriend by firing squad as well. against the evidence of repress, kim's full of contradictions, educated in europe with an unusually modern wife, he's used western reporters to lur the u.s. to engage and found an unlikely friend and fan in former nba star definitelyis rodman, just another reminder that kim jong un may now be playing a high stakes game, or he may be truly benched. remember joined now by ambassador dotroni, part of the six-party talks with north korea regarding their nuclear weapons program and has had a number of opportunities to visit north korea, yourself. as you talk to americans about this, i think a lot of people are quite fascinated by the things kim jong un has done, but it matters. right? it matters to our relationship in the global relationship of north korea. >> absolutely, north k

he may have problems that his father, the late leader kim jong-il had, as well.ven state-run media acknowledged he had what they called discomfort so they have acknowledged that something has happened, which is hardly unusual for north korea but it's not clear what has happened. he missed a very important meeting. he missed the spa, the supreme people's assembly meeting which he hasn't done since he took power so certainly there are many -- much speculation, many rumors, some far-fetched as to what happened to him but don't know at this point. the experts assume that it's some kind of health issue. errol. >> yeah, but he's a young guy, very strange but more questions as it relates to north korea, paula hancocks live for us from seoul, south korea where it's 3:40 in the afternoon. >>> still to come on cnn, france is struggling with its citizens going overseas to join jihadist groups. just ahead, what's being done to stop them from leaving? you make a great team. it's been that way since the day you met. but your erectile dysfunction - it could be a question of blo

but in the past when kim jong un's father, the past leader kim jong il collapsed with a heart attack, the french doctor was rushed to be brought to pyongyang. and the intelligence was intercepted. >> reporter: who's in charge matters, because north korea remains heavily armed, and has developed nuclear weapons. though not small enough yet to be carried by rockets. here in seoul, the capital in south korea, the government says that it thinks the regime in pyongyang is stable. that implies that it believes there hasn't been a coup and that kim jong un remains in power. but probably from his sick bed, these former days of adulation by a fearful public and obedient military are not for the present. but will he ever get them back? the big question, unanswerable from the outside, is how sick he is and is he getting better or worse. steven evans, bbc news, seoul. >>> the huge task of rebuilding parts of gaza after the recent conflict with israel will be the focus of an international conference in cairo this weekend. for 50 days earlier this year, both sides launched rockets and assaults agai

control of the country, as well so suggesting that could be a problem with his health, his father kim jong-illate north korean leader suffered from gout. there is a suggestion he might as well but really this is just speculation. they're guesses as to what is -- has happened to the leader, of course, as you can imagine with very little concrete information and evidence there are a lot of far-fetched ideas out there but the overwhelming assumption he's probably undergoing some health issues at this point. errol. >> all right, paula hancocks live for us in seoul, south korea. thanks. >>> we turn now to ukraine, the government there reporting heavy fighting for control of the donetsk airport. >> images from the area appear to show a fire at the facility thursday which is currently being held by government forces, ukraine's national security council says fighting continues in other towns, as well, all of this despite what was a cease-fire. it says one ukrainian soldier has been killed. 18 others wounded and that's just in the past day. >>> meantime, the red cross confirmed thursday one of its bor

speculation that it's due to a lush lifestyle, just as it was around his father when he was unwell, kim jong iltruth is we don't really know. >> he's been seen now with a walking stick. it matters because no one wants a power vacuum, i suppose. and yet we're not quite sure whether it's him or a cabinet of people around him that are most in charge. >> yes. i think that there has been some sort of shift with his involvement, which is that in terms of dealing with the outside world, particularly with seoul and the south korea issue, that we may now see him as quite a young man, devolving some responsibility. it could be a positive move. >> why do you think it's happening? it's a very different leadership style compared with his family predecessors. >> and his family predecessors got basically nowhere on relation with the outside world. he is less experienced. he knows this. no one really wants to talk to him personally, but being able to send in emissaries while he remains the supreme leader for all the north korean people to witness means that we perhaps now have someone to talk to. >> so who are

>> she is the youngest of seven siblings that their father, kim jong-il, had by four different women.mportant jobs. she was an advanced logistical person, inspecting sites before she would go there, handled administrative work for him. analysts say she probably does the same thing for her brother but also some policy-related things, she gets intelligence briefings. she takes on more responsibility and she's only 26, 27 years old. to think that that young lady might be running things or at least handling very important functions in his absence, again, lends a real air of mystery to this and might worry some people. >> he's only 30 or 31 years old. it's not as if there's a huge age difference. until recently she was pretty much under the radar. >> absolutely. she's only emerged in recent years. she went to boarding school with kim jong-un in switzerland. they stayed at the embassy under assumed names. fascinating history there. she went to school with him in switzerland and then came back and she might have studied at the university of north korea and then went to work for her father in

>> it is inherently a more unstable situation than during kim jong-il's time.ly since he asking who did -- since he asking -- since he executed his uncle. changed thehas chief of the korean people's are make five times in the past two years. and you think about the leadership shuffling that has been going on, it is more unstable. >> and he is 31 years old, and we saw him limping across the stage. there he is again. you have been reading up on his conditions. >> we are talking about gout here, the ancient rich man's disease. suffering from these diseases? >> there are health concerns. high blood pressure, diabetes. there are health concerns. the main point here is that we just do not know a lot about what is going on in north korea. >> there is a sister involved as well? is there a follow on to him as well? >> he has two brothers. >> a sister in law. he has a sister and two brothers. >> the younger sister apparently has taken over state duties while kim jong-un is receiving medical attention. how much can we trust the south korean newspapers when they report on

the founder of this republic kim sunkim jong-il. we have not seen parades this year. we were told that the big celebrations are expected for the next year for the 70's anniversary of the workers par party. >> and there has been no sign of north korea's leader kim jong-un. what is being said there? >> well, that is correct. it's been over a month since people here and all over the world they've seen leader kim tm jong-un, but people here are telling us that they know that their leader has been seen walking with a liverpool, that he can be sick, but they also tell us that he is a human being, he has a right to be sick, and they hope he'll be back on the scene really soon. they know he's working behind the scenes, he's there for him. they miss him very much and they hope he'll be there soon. there have been rumors going around about what is happening here about pyongyang being shut down. one thing we do know, that we've been able to see we as journalists were allowed in the country. we've been moving around the city with different guides. and everything here in pyongyang

will kym jong-il -- kim jong un make an appearance after being out of sight for weeks.