Seoul (AP): North Korean leader Kim Jong II may be sick as he has been absent from public view for weeks, a South Korean newspaper reported today, saying foreign doctors recently arrived in the communist country.

Five Chinese physicians entered North Korea about a week ago and are still there, the Chosun Ilbo said, citing a South Korean government official who had seen an intelligence report detailing the doctors' movements.

The official told the mass-circulation newspaper that the doctors might have been called in to treat high-level officials, including Kim.

The 66-year-old leader has been out of public view for about three weeks.

The country's official Korean Central News Agency last reported on Kim being out in public on August 14, when he inspected a military unit. KCNA is believed to carry reports every time Kim attends a public event. The agency never comments on Kim's health.

An official with South Korea's main spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, said today he has no information to indicate Kim's health has worsened. He spoke on condition of anonymity saying agency officials should not be identified by name.