North Korean leader Kim Jong Il may die within 3 years

Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said at a closed-door meeting that he doubted 68-year-old North Korean leader Kim Jong Il would die within 3 years, South Korea's media reported.

At the closed-door meeting were present a group of North Korean defectors and politicians, including Rep. Park Sun-young of the Liberty Forward Party and former Democratic Party Chairwoman Chang Sang to the U.S. Embassy, and U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens. They gathered to discuss the political situation in the country.