According to a high-official North Korean, Kim Jong-Il could not visit the Mt. KeumSu Memorial Palace on New Years Day, where the formal chairman Kim Il-Sung is buried, missing out on one of the major new years events in North Korea. It is stated that there was not a single year since 1995 when Kim Jong-Il did not pay a tribute on midnight of new year's day, according to the source. This is a very significant event which implies the exacerbation of Kim's health conditions.Other high-ranking officials such as Kim Young-nam, Kim Young-il and Oh Kuk-ryul have participated in the tribute that day. Although the total number of people in the tribute was not counted, it is said to be under 30. The source has mentioned that Cho Myung-rok and Kim Young-chun did not join the tribute, and the participation of Chang Sung-taek has not been identified. Also, it is said that Kim Jung-eun has not participated but had a separate tribute.
Kim Jung-il, who has suffered from strokes in 2008 and still struggles with ailing health, has visited the Mt. KeumSu Memorial Palace on January 1st of 2009. Thus, this indicates that his health conditions have become worse compared to that on the spring of the year 2009.
Open News for North Korea has identified that Kim Jong-Il is currently suffering from the medical consequences of the strokes such as depression, kidney dialysis, due to chronic kidney failure and chronic throat illness. The influence of such a complication has led Kim Jong-Il to cut down on his work due to his deteriorating health.