Kim's illness detailed

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il is suffering from kidney failure which requires dialysis and he also has partial paralysis following a 2008 stroke, the head of a South Korean state research institute said last night.

Nam Sung Wook, director of the Institute for National Security Strategy, said the paleness of Kim's fingernails indicated the 68-year-old leader has chronic kidney disease.

The institute has links to South's National Intelligence Service.