Leader Kim Weds His Former Secretary

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has taken his former secretary as his new wife, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported today.

Kim Ok, 42, has frequently accompanied Kim Jong Il, 64, on his visits to army bases and industrial complexes, and sat with him when he met visiting foreign dignitaries, the agency said.

He has been living with Kim Ok since his previous wife, Ko Yong Hi, the mother of two of Kim's three sons, died of breast cancer in 2004, the agency said.

No official records of Kim Jong Il's marital history are available, but Yonhap said Kim had married or lived a long time with three other women.