North Korean diplomats await 'important message'

North Korean diplomats have been told to stick close to their embassies and await "an important message," Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported on Saturday. Multiple unidentified sources "connected with the issue" said the order appeared to have been conveyed to the diplomats within the past several days, the paper added.
The sources gave no further details but said the message could deal with relations between the two Koreas or the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. Kim's health has been the subject of speculation after US and South Korean officials said he may have suffered a stroke in August. South Korea's National Intelligence Service said it was checking the report.
On Thursday, North Korea threatened to end all relations with South Korea, a major source of aid and cash, in anger at the hardline policies of its conservative president. Pyongyang's threat to cut ties with the South came days after it pledged to resume taking apart a nuclear plant that makes bomb-grade plutonium.
Its decision to return to a disarmament deal followed Washington's move to take the reclusive state off its terrorism blacklist, removing some trade sanctions. The North has been angry at South Korean President Lee Myung-bak since he took office in February and pledged to cut off what once had been largely unconditional aid. Analysts said the North, which often employs pressure tactics, may be moving now because it feels it has gained leverage through the nuclear agreement.
A sharp increase in tension between the two Koreas could cause problems for the South by increasing its perceived political risk and making it more expensive for its companies to raise funds internationally at a time when the economy is already wobbling from the impact of global financial turmoil. The nuclear compromise and the threats to Seoul come as questions have been raised over how decisions are now being made in the North after US and South Korean officials raised fears about Kim's health.
Kim's health and his whereabouts are the among the North's most tightly guarded secrets. Known at home as the "Dear Leader", Kim has failed to appear at a number of the high-profile ceremonies in recent months. State media last week moved to dispel rumours he was gravely ill, reporting he had attended a soccer match, and broadcasting pictures of him inspecting a women's military unit. South Korean media said the pictures may have been several months old.