Local sources knowledgeable on North Korea say rumors that the wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had died, is likely true.

Kim's wife, Koh Young-hee, a Japanese-born Korean dancer, was treated in Paris last spring for advanced cancer. Over the summer, the 51-year-old mother of two of Kim's sons, was flown back to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, where she fell into a coma.

Meanwhile, the Japanese daily Sankei Shimbun reported recently that North Korean diplomats in Paris purchased an "extremely expensive" coffin and shipped it to Pyongyang by charter flight.

Koh had apparently caught the eye of Kim Jong-il when her dance troupe performed at one of his private parties.